Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) has called on Europe to prepare for a possible second term in office for former US President Donald Trump by strengthening its own “competitiveness”. “I think we talk too much about Donald Trump in Europe,” Lindner said on Friday at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The best preparation for Trump’s possible re-election is to “do our homework.” In addition to a strong economy, this also includes the ability to defend oneself.
“Being an attractive partner on an equal footing when it comes to the economic situation and a fair distribution of burdens in NATO is the best thing we can do for a good partnership with the United States,” said Lindner in a discussion in English. Then it doesn’t even matter who is in power in Washington.
“If we are attractive, if we don’t have to ask others because we have skills ourselves, that is the best way to work together,” said Lindner. This applies to every possible outcome of the US presidential election in November.
Trump clearly won the first Republican primary in the state of Iowa on Monday. He received 51 percent of the vote. In the November election, a repeat of the 2020 duel against President Joe Biden is becoming increasingly likely.
Lindner also said in Davos that he was “worried” that many politicians in the EU wanted to “subsidize almost everything” following the example of the US government. “We have to avoid a subsidy race,” said Lindner. “We can’t afford this.”
