At the opening of the Munich Security Conference a surprising coalition has come together to push for greater development aid. Federal Minister Reem Alabali Radovan (SPD) supports, in an article for “Stern”, a paper drafted by former defence minister and chair of the conservative Konrad‑Adenauer‑Stiftung, Annegret Kramp‑Karrenbauer (CDU), and former development‑aid minister Gerd Müller (CSU). The paper calls for increased funding for development policy and carries the message, “Security is more than just armaments”.
Alabali Radovan told “Stern”: “Our shared political task is to strengthen development policy. The appeal from Gerd Müller, economist Moritz Schularick and Annegret Kramp‑Karrenbauer gets to the point: security is created wherever crises are prevented-through development, stable institutions and partnerships. That is why development, diplomacy and defence belong together strategically”. She ties her stance to similar demands made by Union figures such as Friedrich Merz (CDU).
In their joint paper, Kramp‑Karrenbauer, Müller and Schularick criticize the decline in Germany’s development‑aid spending. They argue that either Germany must invest in prevention, stabilisation and new strategic partnerships-linking the necessary reforms to mutual benefit-or risk handing the arena over to other actors in an even more uncertain world. They contend that Germany’s “soft power” in aid research gives it a strategic competitive advantage that should not be relinquished.
Gerd Müller also expressed in “Stern” that he is concerned by Germany’s significant cuts to its development budget in recent years. He warned that further reductions could be on the way in 2026 and that such cuts would weaken global security. “We should not retreat” he added.
