Chancellor Helmut Schmidt has apparently succeeded in persuading the leaders of his coalition parliamentary faction to support a relaxation of West Germany’s long-standing ban on the sale of weapons to countries in areas of tension. This will open the way to a massive arms deal with Saudi Arabia which Schmidt has strongly supported.
But eventual arms deliveries to Riyadh remain doubtful because of substantial opposition in the Bundestag to the transaction. It would reportedly include the sale of improved Leopold II tanks and other advanced weaponry.
Therefore, while Schmidt has managed to remove a major obstacle to the proposed sale, he is not considered likely to provoke an argument with the opponents because of the shaky position of his Social Democratic Party (SPD) – Free Democratic Party (FDP) coalition.
IMPLICATION FOR THE FUTURE
Nevertheless, the shift in Bonn’s arms sales policy has important implications for the future. The government is empowered to sell German weapons to countries in areas of tension if the sale is vital to the Federal Republic’s security or political interests, and does not conflict with the interests of the NATO alliance. The government is prepared to inform the chairmen of the various Bundestag factions of any pending arms deals to non-NATO countries but will retain its authority to make decisions on such matters without prior confirmation by parliament. The government is expected to confirm the policy change later this month.
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