“…Friction is growing in Germany. The Social Democrats, Ms. Merkel’s center-left coalition partners who control the finance ministry and were in charge of the latest budget plan, are using the dislike of Mr. Trump in their election campaign ahead of European parliamentary elections in May.

“Julianne Smith, a fellow at the Bosch Academy in Berlin and a former Obama administration national security official, said the Social Democrats were using the military budget to show they were the party ‘that stands up to Donald Trump.’

“‘This decision became a bit of a referendum on Donald Trump, instead of a referendum on Germany’s hollowed-out forces that desperately need these resources,’ she said.”

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