The left-wing and green parties responded angrily to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s announcement that the country would increase armament sales to Gulf states. “Merz is blindly following the propaganda of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman” said far-left leader Jan van Aken in an interview with the news portal T‑Online. According to van Aken, the federal government is effectively dismissing longstanding human‑rights concerns. He warned that the situation in Saudi Arabia continues to deteriorate, noting that many people are executed-often merely for drug offenses-women are denied equal rights, and critics of the prince and his court are routinely imprisoned. “This is a dirty deal: weapons for ever‑higher profits for German business leaders” he added.
Green politician Sara Nanni accused Merz of seeking to further normalize a regime that requires a “fossil agenda”. “This has little to do with security policy” the green group’s spokesperson told T‑Online. Nanni argued that the suspicions that once justified a tougher stance on arms exports remain valid. She emphasized that the government has never presumed Gulf states to be a general threat and that any restriction in the past was based on concrete reasons. Merz’s claims that arms deals would build trust are typical of conservatively led governments, she said.
