In Erfurt, the Chancellor drew his red line in the Ukraine war. Otherwise, he appeared confident of victory – and took a dig at Friedrich Merz.
The Chancellor is leaning against a white bar table in the editorial building, his legs crossed. He obviously wants to look relaxed. Olaf Scholz, very relaxed.
He actually came to Erfurt for the Catholic Day; on Friday he will take part in a panel discussion and visit the former synagogue near the town hall. But now, on Thursday evening, the Chancellor will first meet his sovereign, namely in the form of readers of the “Thüringer Allgemeine”.
The two hours will cover care, climate change, pensions, the shortage of doctors, refugees, the minimum wage and, of course, democracy. But first, editor-in-chief Jan Hollitzer is allowed to ask questions – about the war in Ukraine. This gives the peace-loving Social Democrat Scholz the opportunity to freshen up his so-called red line, which recently seemed to be fading a little.
For him, this is rather simple when it comes to ground troops. “I am completely clear on this issue,” says Scholz. “I said we do not want to go in there with our soldiers, and that remains the position that the German government takes, because we say: That is the point…”
He doesn’t finish the sentence and continues: “Incidentally, that also applies to a lot of other things that are trumpeted around very thoughtlessly.” A no-fly zone, for example, might be “a nice name.” But in effect it means: “You shoot down another nation’s planes with your own fighter planes.”
And now comes Scholz’s point: “Then you are at war!”
Suddenly the Chancellor becomes cryptic
Such a zone, the Chancellor adds grimly, will not be made less harmful by limiting it to 50 kilometers. Then he decrees: “That simply cannot be allowed – and the German Chancellor is very clear on this issue.”
Basta. But then, all of a sudden, he starts to be vague again. When he is asked whether German weapons could be used to destroy targets in Russia, his answer seems just as open to interpretation as it was at the recent press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron. It is: “Ukraine is under attack. That is why it has many options offered by international law. And that is why we have made agreements with Ukraine that we do not need to change.”
But what does that mean? Doesn’t international law allow a country under attack to defend itself by attacking the aggressor’s infrastructure? Now Scholz is finally becoming cryptic – and diverting attention. “This is an absurd debate because it changes the field,” he says. “The field is: what do we do? We won’t do that.”
Olaf Scholz: The Democracy Promotion Act is coming, perhaps
He does not say what “that” is. Instead, he continues: “International law dictates that if you are attacked, you are allowed to defend yourself. Absolutely clear. And that is why we are supporting Ukraine on the massive scale described so that it can succeed. But at the same time, it is absolutely clear to us that we will not join with our own troops.”
After this rhetorical pirouette, with which Scholz lands on something he was not even asked about, all we know is that he would rather not talk about what is happening with German weapons in Ukraine. After all, the European elections are coming up soon.
Scholz smiles a lot this evening in Erfurt, which may also be due to the fact that the questions from the audience are hardly critical. AfD supporters certainly do not seem to read the “Thüringer Allgemeine”. One man complains, for example, that refugees are dying in the Mediterranean. Another asks when the Democracy Promotion Act will finally be passed. “It will come, I think so,” the Chancellor answers vaguely. “I have the impression that we can manage it.”
The minimum wage and a threat
Questions are also being asked about the minimum wage, which Scholz proposed increasing in an interview with star When would that happen? The answer: “I made my voice heard and said that I think it has to go up, and I mentioned amounts, to 14 and then to 15 euros, in the hope that it will return to social partnership.”
A threat follows: “If this doesn’t work in the long term, then we have a problem that we can only solve through legislation.” The next decision is due in spring 2025 – “and I’m looking at it closely.”
In general, next year. The new Bundestag will be elected in September 2025, and Olaf Scholz naturally sees himself still in the Chancellor’s office after that. When asked about it, he says that he “became Chancellor against all expectations”, polls or not. That is why he also finds it “not plausible that I will not succeed in achieving another term in office”.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz, whom he has described as his preferred candidate for chancellor, will help him with this. Scholz grins. There are “many aspects” that speak in favor of this, he says, but he has “no desire” to go into it. “You will see that I am right.”
That’s just how he is, this Scholz. Everything will be great, for the Federal Republic, but also for him, the Chancellor. That’s why he only has one obvious answer to the question of who will be the European football champion this year: “We’ll win!”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
