Dispute over arms deliveries
Hofreiter and Merz attack Scholz sharply
04/15/2022, 5:25 p.m
“The chancellor is the problem”: With these words, the Green politician Hofreiter attacks his traffic light colleague Scholz. His hesitation in delivering heavy weapons to Ukraine has also caused other parties to shake their heads. But there are also more reserved voices.
In the debate about the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine and the hesitant attitude of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Greens member of the Bundestag, Anton Hofreiter, follows up. “The chancellor is the problem – not only in Ukraine politics, but also in other questions of European cooperation,” the European politician told the “Spiegel”. “Germany has to take responsibility in Europe – and that’s where the chancellor is most important,” said Hofreiter. “Regardless of which European countries I’m traveling to at the moment, I always encounter the question: Where is Germany?” the chairman of the Europe Committee pointed out.
Sharp criticism of Scholz also comes from the Union faction leader Friedrich Merz. “The Chancellor has major deficits in strategy and in his communication,” said the CDU leader to the “Spiegel”. “Either he doesn’t know what he wants himself, or he can’t explain his goals.” Merz told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” that Scholz’s behavior endangered “the cohesion of the entire international community towards Russia”. As examples, he cited the chancellor’s hesitation in supplying arms, but also his previous refusal to travel to Kyiv.
Merz demanded that there should finally be clarity about what Germany wants to do and whether it wants to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine. “We want to know what is being delivered and, above all, why the federal government does not want to deliver available material,” said the CDU leader. He pointed to growing doubts about the reliability of the government.
On the debate about the delivery of heavy weapons, Merz said he “completely” agreed with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, “that there are no more excuses.” One such excuse is that the Ukrainians cannot operate the Marder infantry fighting vehicle, for example. “Then training must take place, also outside of Ukraine,” demanded the opposition leader. Tanks would eventually also be delivered to Ukraine from several other European countries, said Merz. In addition, the NATO Council agreed last week to support the country with additional heavy weapons. Merz also criticized Scholz for not having gone to Kyiv so far. “He should have been there long ago,” he told the “FAZ”.
Habeck also advocates more weapons
The FDP accused Scholz of hesitation. “Very quick action is now the order of the day,” demanded defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann in the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung,” referring to the new large-scale Russian offensive looming in eastern Ukraine. When asked whether there was a procrastinator in the Chancellery, she answered “Yes” on Deutschlandfunk.
“If Russia wins this war against Ukraine, there will be a risk of new military conflicts in Moldova, in Georgia and presumably also in the western Balkans,” SPD foreign policy expert Michael Roth also advocated more German involvement. “The Ukrainians can only defend themselves with weapons – and we should support them quickly and comprehensively,” he told the “Frankfurter Rundschau”. Hofreiter, Strack-Zimmermann and Roth visited the Ukraine a few days ago.
“More weapons must come,” said Habeck in an interview with the Funke media group. “We cannot leave Ukraine alone in the war. They are also fighting for us,” he said. However, the economics minister avoided direct criticism of Scholz and remained somewhat more cautious when it came to heavy weapons. Germany must not become a target itself, this framework “so far does not include large tanks or combat aircraft,” said Habeck.
“Old, rigid worldview collapsed”
Green party leader Omid Nouripour also expressed caution. Everyone in the government is “very close together,” he said in Berlin on Thursday. Party colleague Hofreiter had already handed out against Chancellor Scholz on Wednesday evening. “The problem is in the chancellery,” he said on “RTL Direkt”. “Now we must finally start providing Ukraine with what it needs, and that includes heavy weapons.” Hofreiter’s statements were “not those of Bündnis90/Die Grünen,” Nouripour reported the following day.
SPD faction leader Rolf Mützenich criticized the push for more arms deliveries. “There are no simple answers, not even when it comes to the delivery of heavy military equipment to Ukraine,” he said in Berlin. Strack-Zimmermann then accused Mützenich on Twitter: “He cannot accept that an old, rigid worldview has collapsed.”
The long-standing Green MP and party leftist Hans-Christian Ströbele told the “Rheinische Post” that the appeal to create peace without weapons “continues to apply in the long term”. But now Ukraine must be given the opportunity “to defend itself with weapons”. At the same time, he continues to advise caution with regard to arms deliveries. He was against “now delivering the heaviest offensive weapons such as tanks to Ukraine. That increases the risk of the feared spread of the war to NATO.”
Demands for deliveries of heavy weapons also came from the CDU. Germany is on the side of Ukraine. “That’s why we should also be prepared to support Ukraine with heavy weapons,” demanded defense politician Serap Güler in the “Heilbronnerstimme.” Ukraine has been demanding deliveries from Germany for weeks, especially of tanks.