In a heated debate with his opponent, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared that he was ready to counterattack US President Donald Trump within an hour.

On February 9, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared in a pre-election debate with his rival from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Friedrich Merz that Europe was ready to respond if the US imposed tariffs on the European Union (EU).

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (left) and his opponent, Friedrich Merz, during a pre-election debate, held on February 9. (Source: EFE)

In the first confrontation before the February 23 election, Merz described Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) as an indecisive person who had pushed the German economy into crisis, while the incumbent Chancellor presented herself as an experienced leader with a firm grasp of the details, Reuters news agency reported.

Asked if the EU was ready to respond with targeted retaliation if the US imposed tariffs, Mr Scholz, who is trailing Mr Merz in the polls, said: "Yes... We, as the EU, can act within an hour."

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs on Washington’s biggest trading partners, accusing them of profiting from America’s prosperity. Trade policy is a competence of the EU, run by the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium.

On defense spending, Mr. Merz, who is leading in the polls and is the frontrunner to become Germany’s next chancellor, has been reluctant to raise taxes or borrow to meet the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) target of 2% of GDP, although that is still far short of the 5% that Mr. Trump is demanding.

When Chancellor Scholz said that figure would not be enough, Mr Merz expressed openness to discussing scrapping Germany's symbolic spending cap - despite a platform pledge to maintain a constitutional debt limit.

The two men also sparred over the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which is backed by Trump confidant Elon Musk.

Mr Scholz warned that Mr Merz could not be trusted not to form a coalition with the AfD. The CDU member dismissed that, blaming what he called Mr Scholz's "leftist" policies for the far-right party's rise to second place in the polls.

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