German opposition leaders fault Merkel-Schulz debate

BERLIN – German opposition leaders are complaining that Chancellor Angela Merkel and challenger Martin Schulz left key issues unmentioned in their single televised debate ahead of the Sept. 24 election.

Sunday night’s debate saw Merkel and Schulz lock horns over how to deal with Turkey and the issue of migrants.

Anton Hofreiter, the caucus leader of the opposition Greens — a potential coalition partner for both leaders — said they spent too little time on Germany’s future during the debate. He said neither leader spoke about climate protection or education, or said much about the impact of technological development. He scored the debate as a draw on ARD television Monday.

Left Party leader Katja Kipping said: “issues that I know from speaking to people really worry them barely came up at all.”