Overview
- On Dec. 10, Sandra Maischberger pressed Green candidate Cem Özdemir over the combustion‑engine phase‑out, losing patience when he declined to name a target year beyond the EU’s 2035 plan.
- A subsequent segment saw Linke leader Jan van Aken and security scholar Christian Mölling argue over defense spending, Arrow 3 and conscription while parsing the new U.S. security strategy.
- The previous night, Markus Lanz convened experts including Elmar Theveßen and Florence Gaub to weigh the strategy’s consequences for Europe and NATO, with Theveßen calling it a “divorce certificate” for the alliance.
- Lanz’s Dec. 10 edition featured Digital and State Modernization Minister Karsten Wildberger detailing a four‑year plan to streamline administration and ready government for the AI era, with analysis from journalist Michael Bröcker.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s criticism of parts of the U.S. paper as “inacceptable” from a European view surfaced across the discussions, while FAZ faulted Maischberger’s framing for revisiting the “Stadtbild” flap; episodes are available in the ARD and ZDF mediatheks.