Kretschmer: Germany "must face up to its responsibilities"

Following the major Iranian attack on Israel, Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) has criticized the German government's foreign policy. "This country can't just keep running or flying after developments, but must once again face up to its responsibilities," said Kretschmer on Sunday in Dresden on the fringes of a donation handover to the German Red Cross. Germany must get out of the mode of moral exaltation. "We have to get to work, we have to try to limit conflicts."

For decades, Germany has been an important player in crisis prevention, in moderating and limiting conflicts, but is now no longer taken seriously at all. Germany is a country that, despite its difficult history, "enjoys a great deal of trust in the Arab world, in the Western world and also in the Eastern Bloc in the past", said Kretschmer. This is dangerous for the world.

The CDU politician called for Germany to be made strong. "We need to be economically strong. Then we will also be able to assert our security interests." Israel had succeeded in intercepting the majority of drones and cruise missiles during the Iranian attack thanks to a strong missile defense shield and external support. "That's what we now have to do in Europe too. We must ensure that we make ourselves safe with an insecure neighbor like Russia," said Kretschmer.

According to Israel, around 300 missiles were fired by Iran in the attack on Sunday night, 99 percent of which were intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the USA, Great Britain, France and Jordan. The attack was in retaliation for the deaths of senior officers killed in a suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran's embassy compound in the Syrian capital Damascus on April 1.