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Photographer: Maja Hitij/Getty Images
Merkel Gives Little Ground as Schulz Attacks in German TV Debate
By
Arne Delfs
and
Patrick Donahue
3 September 2017, 20:59 CEST 3 September 2017, 22:23 CEST

• German chancellor, SPD challenger spar over Trump, Turkey
• It’s their only face-to-face clash before Sept. 24 election

German Chancellor Angela Merkel stood firm on her record in her only election debate with Social Democratic opponent Martin Schulz, saying she’s convinced that her decisions on keeping the country’s borders open for refugees and striking a deal with Turkey were right.

Trailing in the race to determine Germany’s next chancellor, Schulz attacked Merkel early in the nationally televised clash for failing to press other European Union countries to accept more refugees. As the 90-minute debate settled down, few fundamental differences emerged between the two candidates on topics such as dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump and responding to North Korea’s hydrogen-bomb test.

Relations with Turkey produced some of the sharpest rhetoric, with Merkel and Schulz competing to take a hard line against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the arrests of German citizens. Both called for economic pressure and a halt to EU membership talks with Turkey, while upholding Europe’s refugee accord with the country.

“The only language Erdogan understands is an unyielding stance,” Schulz said. Merkel said Turkey “is moving away from democratic practices at breathtaking speed,” though she emphasized she has no intention of breaking off diplomatic relations.

Two flash polls released after the debate found that Merkel won the first 45 minutes. A poll of 1,000 viewers for ARD television found 44 percent saying Merkel’s arguments were convincing compared with 36 for Schulz. Asked which candidate was “more competent,” 59 percent said Merkel and 18 percent chose Schulz. A separate poll for ZDF found that Merkel won by 33 percent to 24 percent for Schulz, with the rest undecided.

For an interactive look at possible party coalitions, click here.

Helmed by four moderators from Germany’s main networks, the debate produced polite attacks by Schulz and occasional defensive moments for Merkel. In part, that reflects the fact that Merkel’s Christian Democrat-led bloc and Schulz’s Social Democrats have governed together for eight of her 12 years in office, including the last four.

Schulz carried his campaign-trail attacks on Trump into the debate, portraying him as unpredictable, insulting and unsuited to handling the North Korean crisis.

Merkel took a different tack, saying she views her role as trying to exert moderating influence over the U.S. president. “I will make every effort also to convince the American president that we need a peaceful solution,” she said.

Refugee Crisis
Schulz took up a hot-button topic early on, criticizing Merkel’s early response to the refugee crisis in 2015 because she failed to enlist other European Union countries from the start in sharing the influx of migrants. That prompted a testy response by the chancellor, who’s seeking a fourth term.

“Doesn’t really matter whether he knows better or not,” the chancellor said of Schulz, when pressed by one of the moderators. “There are moments in the life of a leader or a chancellor where you just have to take decisions.”

Schulz said that he agreed with the policy of granting asylum to those in need and argued that Germany had to meet its international commitments. Instead, he revived his suggestion that Merkel was trying to smother debate in the campaign. “You can’t advance democracy if you’re in the sleeper car,” he said.

‘Right Thing’
In the opening exchanges, Merkel rebuffed the moderators’ suggestion that her backing for sovereign bailouts to preserve the euro area and her refusal to close Germany’s borders at the height of the refugee crisis two years ago fueled the revival of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party.

“There are situations were we have to follow our fundamental principles and still fight for every vote,” Merkel said. “I stand behind these decisions. And still I will make every effort to persuade as many people as possible that this was the right thing to do and that we should continue on this path together.”

— With assistance by Birgit Jennen

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