Berlin, May 22 (TIWN) The top three candidates vying to succeed Angela Merkel as the next german Chancellor in the September federal elections held their first televised debate hosted by the public broadcaster WDR.

In the debate on Thursday, Annalena Baerbock, the candidate of the Green Party, who is currently leading the polls with around 26 per cent backing ahead of the governing Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), emphasized environmental issues and recalled that a recent ruling by Germany's Constitutional Court was necessary for the country to take immediate climate action, reports Xinhua news agency.     

Baerbock described the NATO target, which requires allies to spend at least two percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defence each year, as "absurd" and called for the withdrawal of all nuclear weapons stationed in Germany.  She is also the only female Chancellor candidate in the upcoming polls.