The co-leader of the German Left party, Jan van Aken, had a wide-ranging interview with Die Zeit on May 3, and emphasized that the party continues to abide by its 2011 platform, which called for Germany to exit NATO.
“ZEIT ONLINE: In your 2011 policy platform, you wanted to abolish NATO. Does that still apply?
“Van Aken: We never wanted to abolish NATO without replacement, but rather replace it with a cooperative security system. Something like OECD 2.0. A peace and defense alliance, together with Russia and the U.S. But of course, if we were to rebuild it, it would certainly require another ten years of confidence-building measures. NATO would still exist that long, but it no longer has a future.”
Van Aken also advocated that all of the thousands of U.S. soldiers stationed in Germany should withdraw, and “take their nuclear weapons with them.”
He continued, “Of course, we need a strong Bundeswehr for national and European defense. But conventional weapons are sufficient. There are already over 400 nuclear weapons in Europe, both in Great Britain and France. That’s more than enough.”
“ZEIT ONLINE: So the Left is happy to rely on this existing nuclear deterrent in our neighboring countries?
“Van Aken: No, I’m against British and French nuclear missiles, there’s no question about that. But I have no illusions that we as the German Left can make a difference. We’re primarily fighting against this demand for German participation in these weapons or for Germany to have its own nuclear weapons. It’s very dangerous to normalize nuclear weapons in the debate again, because then their actual use becomes increasingly likely.”
The interview also discussed other areas of foreign policy, such as the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the Gaza crisis.
