There must be considerable concern in NATO that the new federal government will break out of the alliance consensus if the Secretary General in Berlin publicly calls for higher defense spending and adherence to nuclear participation.
The latter in particular could be a difficult topic for a traffic light coalition.
All three parties have doubts about the German contribution to nuclear deterrence;
when the FDP last appointed the foreign minister, it even tried to obtain the withdrawal of American nuclear weapons from Germany.
That would be an even bigger mistake today than it was in Westerwelle's time.
Russia has deployed new medium-range missiles, which put an end to the INF treaty.
Putin is again openly using atomic bombs for threatening gestures, most recently only a few days ago in the sky over Belarus.
The tactical weapons of the USA, which are stored in Europe, have an important deterrent effect, especially in regional conflicts.
The future coalition should do everything possible to maintain this protection, which also serves Germany itself, which requires the purchase of new aircraft.
Surrendering arms to Poland would change little in the military situation, but it would weaken Germany's influence in the alliance and send the fatal signal that it is no longer a deterrent.