Germany's likely next leader Friedrich Merz said Thursday urgent action was needed to boost the country's under-resourced military and ailing economy, as he defended plans for a spending bonanza during a fiery parliamentary debate.
Merz's conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) -- in talks to form a coalition after February's general election -- unveiled the plans for vast extra outlays last week, and are now racing to push them through the current legislature.
