Klingbeil defends course
Pressure on Scholz does not let up
4/22/2022 6:36 am
Too little, too hesitant, too many unanswered questions: Chancellor Scholz is under pressure because of his approach to arms deliveries to Ukraine. Party leader Klingbeil protects him. The ranks of those responsible for the SPD are closed, dissenting voices in the coalition are individual opinions.
The pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to deliver weapons quickly to Ukraine is not easing – but SPD chairman Lars Klingbeil is now vehemently backing him. “I am very happy that we have a chancellor who thinks things through and coordinates closely with the international alliance partners,” said the SPD leader. “That’s what I expect from good leadership: No quick shots, but rather thoughtful, decisive and consistent action and not changing your mind every day or relying on nice headlines.”
But the pressure is being maintained from the ranks of the coalition partner, the Greens, and from the opposition Union. The Green Europe Committee chairman in the Bundestag, Anton Hofreiter, confirmed in the newspapers of the Funke media group: “By slowing down the energy embargo and the necessary arms deliveries, there is a risk that this war will drag on longer and that Putin will attack other countries. ” At the same time, he assured that there was “no doubt whatsoever about Olaf Scholz’s chancellorship”. The security policy spokeswoman for his group, Sara Nanni, asked Scholz to position himself more clearly. “We need clarity from the Chancellor as to what the priorities are and how decisions are made,” she told the editorial network Germany.
The Union has threatened to submit an application for the delivery of heavy weapons to the Bundestag next week if Scholz does not move. Parliamentary secretary Patrick Schnieder confirmed this in the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post” and explained: “The argument in the traffic light and in particular the hesitation of the Chancellor on the subject of arms deliveries is more than embarrassing and raises doubts as to which side the federal government is actually on.” Europe expert Gunther Krichbaum told the “Bild” newspaper: “Scholz ducking away only helps Russia.”
“Do not cross the threshold to the Third World War”
Defense Committee Chairwoman Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann from coalition partner FDP has repeatedly urged Scholz to also deliver heavy weapons. Ukraine needs “big combat equipment, right away,” she told the “Bild”. However, Klingbeil sees the criticism from the ranks of the coalition partners as individual opinions. “We work closely together in the government and in the coalition committee and stand behind the government’s decisions together. If there are individual dissenting opinions in the parties, then each party leadership has to deal with it itself.”
“Every day we reassess what we can still deliver. But the Bundeswehr has now largely exhausted its stocks,” said Klingbeil. “This is also due to the fact that the Bundeswehr has been run down in recent years.” Klingbeil pointed out that Germany instead finances deliveries of German industry to Ukraine with a lot of money and supports the provision of heavy weapons by partner countries with training and ammunition. He also urged prudence: “We and our partners agree that we must not cross the threshold to World War III.”
Klingbeil was calm about the differences within the SPD. Representatives of the left wing of the party have spoken out against the delivery of heavy weapons, while foreign affairs committee chairman Michael Roth is in favour. In a people’s party with almost 400,000 members, there are sometimes different opinions, said Klingbeil. “But in the end I see that there is a high degree of unity among those who bear responsibility in the SPD.”
Although Germany has sent weapons to Ukraine, it has so far held back on heavy equipment such as tanks and artillery pieces – and has not delivered anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles since March 25, according to “Welt” information. In the meantime, however, Scholz has announced that Germany wants to provide compensation if NATO partners deliver old Soviet weapons to Ukraine. According to information from the German Press Agency, Slovenia, for example, is to give up T72 tanks and receive German armored personnel carriers and wheeled armored vehicles in return. Strack-Zimmermann welcomed this in the “Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung” and said that the Chancellery should now “coordinate the ministries involved and say very quickly what we are doing”. The implementation must be “lightning fast”.