FDP and Greens are in favor of supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine to fight Russia, unlike Chancellor Olaf Scholz. But Union plans bring the representatives of the traffic light coalition together.
In the dispute over the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine, top politicians from the SPD, FDP and Greens have tried to dispel the impression that the traffic light coalition is divided, despite ongoing differences on the matter.
But Union faction leader Friedrich Merz continued to put pressure on and told the Süddeutsche Zeitung: “We are offering the coalition a joint motion for a resolution that will clarify which weapons Germany is ready to deliver.”
The newspaper quotes from the Union’s draft application that Germany must “now join its allies in the EU and NATO and make a determined contribution to strengthening the Ukrainian self-defense forces – also and especially with heavy weapons”. The German arms deliveries would have to be “immediately and noticeably” intensified in quantity and quality. If no agreement is reached, the Union wants to submit the application to the Bundestag alone, according to the report.
Traffic light: party tactical games
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil, FDP leader Christian Lindner and Green Party politician Anton Hofreiter, who is a clear supporter, accused the Union of playing party tactics because it wants to force such deliveries, if necessary, by submitting an application to the Bundestag.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has been accused of hesitation and reticence on the subject of arms deliveries for weeks – also from his own coalition. At the start of the NRW-CDU election campaign before the state elections in three weeks, Merz von Scholz already demanded a government statement on his Russia course on Saturday. He told the “Bild am Sonntag” that Germany was increasingly isolated abroad. Scholz is “not perceived as someone who leads powerfully and strategically. He dithers, he hesitates, and he pays too much attention to the SPD’s Russia network.”
In “Spiegel”, Scholz said his top priority was to avoid the war spreading to NATO. “There must be no nuclear war,” he said. “I’m doing everything to prevent an escalation that leads to a third world war.” With regard to the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine, there is a discussion about whether NATO countries could therefore be perceived by Russia as a war party.
Merz demands a government statement
Merz, who is also the head of the CDU, said in Düsseldorf that Scholz had to say in a government statement in the Bundestag how he assessed the situation and discuss the path with the opposition. If he doesn’t do that, the Union faction has prepared its application for arms deliveries in order to bring its ideas to parliament. There is a majority in the Bundestag with the Union, FDP and Greens for the delivery of heavy weapons. “We have an overwhelmed government,” criticized Merz.
The SPD chairman Klingbeil told the German Press Agency: “I believe that this riot course will damage the Union.” They are looking for their role in the opposition. “There is a war in Ukraine, people are dying there. This cruel war should not be used for partisan tactical games. I hope those who see it that way will prevail in the Union.” In the ARD program “Report from Berlin” on Sunday, Klingbeil contradicted the impression that the federal government was in a crisis because of the issue of arms deliveries. “There is no coalition crisis. You will see that in the coming week that the government is closed.”
FDP advocates arms deliveries
FDP leader Lindner said at the FDP party conference in Berlin, to which he was connected from Washington because of a corona infection: “The Chancellor has the trust of the FDP and also its parliamentary group in the German Bundestag.” But it is also clear: “Ukraine needs military aid and heavy weapons.” He accused the Union of playing a “dangerous game”. “In times of war in Europe, I have no sympathy for this form of partisan maneuvers.”
In a decision, the FDP party congress spoke out in favor of the delivery of heavy weapons from Germany to Ukraine. The country must be supported quickly and effectively in repelling the Russian war of aggression, it says. “This also includes the delivery of heavy weapons and the rapid provision of armaments by German industry, for which Germany, as announced, will provide the financing.”
Merz again threatened in the “Bild am Sonntag” not to approve the planned special fund of 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr. The Union does not allow itself to be “negotiated and prefabricated by the federal government, which we should then simply agree to. There is no free pass for the federal government here.”
The Green politician Hofreiter accused Scholz in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung” of hesitation. He compared his style to that of Scholz’s predecessor, Angela Merkel (CDU). “Scholz is very similar to Merkel, that’s the problem.” However, Hofreiter does not see a danger for the traffic light coalition. Rather, he sees “a struggle in the coalition in an extremely difficult situation for the right actions”. He told the news portal “t-online”: “My sober conclusion is simply that Olaf Scholz’s strategy does not work. And that’s why I criticize them.”
Hofreiter also criticized the planned Union application for arms deliveries: “I do not believe in using such things for small-scale party-political gains.”
Source: Stern
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