Overview

• On July 12, Sabine Zimmermann, head of Saxony’s BSW, publicly rejected the federal government’s plan to sharply increase military spending.
• She warned that diverting billions to armaments would force cuts to pensions, healthcare and education, calling the proposal “unsocial and absolutely unacceptable.”
• Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the Bundesrat the era of the post-Cold-War “peace dividend” is over due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, backing his defense spending plan.
• The BSW faction views the debate as a neoliberal scheme to erode social provisions and saddle future generations with debt.
• Zimmermann demanded redirecting federal funds into childcare, schools, elder care and infrastructure instead of arms procurement and corporate tax privileges.