German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday defended her government’s record during the coronavirus pandemic, telling lawmakers that the country had fared well compared to many of its peers. The far-right Alternative for Germany, the largest opposition party, accused Merkel during a budget debate in Parliament of using the crisis as an excuse to spend taxpayers’ money and promote what it described as “corona socialism.” Merkel rejected the charge, noting that despite putting together an unprecedented stimulus package and breaking its previous borrowing rules, Germany continues to have the lowest public debt ratio of all countries in the Group of Seven industrialized nations.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday defended her government’s record during the coronavirus pandemic, telling lawmakers that the country had fared well compared to many of its peers. The far-right Alternative for Germany, the largest opposition party, accused Merkel during a budget debate in Parliament of using the crisis as an excuse to spend taxpayers’ money and promote what it described as “corona socialism.” Merkel rejected the charge, noting that despite putting together an unprecedented stimulus package and breaking its previous borrowing rules, Germany continues to have the lowest public debt ratio of all countries in the Group of Seven industrialized nations.