For days the chancellor was at the diving station. Now has returned from the verbal immersion. Olaf Scholz keeps his next moves to himself. This is already having consequences.
There He is! Olaf Scholz was already missing. Crisis and conflict everywhere, but not a word from the chancellor. Instead , on which the person you were looking for wanted to be discovered, and a . Where is Olaf Scholz? A question that has already become a hotly debated trend topic on Twitter.
For days, the chancellor seemed to be on the underground station, and publicly audible statements on topics such as the threatening gestures from Russia could not be heard from him. Scholz returned from verbal immersion on Wednesday evening. His whereabouts are now clear. But how can his statements be located?
Scholz remained vague in the conversation, kept a low profile, and avoided clear statements. That kind of communication, , has gotten him far. But as a chancellor who has been in power for 58 days, can you just carry on like this? Even now, his largely silent appearance has tangible consequences.
What does Olaf Scholz actually say?
In the conflict with Russia, Germany seems hesitant. It’s growing, allies are already having doubts about Berlin’s reliability. Where is Olaf Scholz? Political observers are also asking this question: Ulrich Speck from the German Marshall Fund, a US foundation for the promotion of transatlantic relations, who is currently reaching Moscow and Kiev from heads of state from all directions – just apparently not from Germany.
“Of course I also spoke to the Russian President,” Scholz assured in the ZDF interview and left the time and content of the conversation open. One prepares “of course carefully everything that is now necessary.” Apparently, this also includes a visit to the Kremlin “soon”. “That is planned and will take place soon,” said Scholz. He did not give an exact date.
These days, other countries are playing the role of mediator. French President Emmanuel Macron called Putin on Friday, the British Prime Minister – the call was already scheduled for Monday – and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is planning a visit to the Ukrainian head of state in Kiev. Johnson was a guest there on Tuesday. Well who maintains good relations with both countries. So far, Scholz has not been to Moscow or Kiev, and he has not yet made an appearance in Washington either. His first meeting with US President Biden is scheduled for next Monday.
The Chancellor did not want to accept the accusation that Germany seemed unreliable. “That doesn’t happen,” said Scholz on ZDF. “Our allies know exactly what they have in us.”
The fact that there are doubts about this is also due to the unclear position of the SPD in dealing with Russia. On Monday, leading Social Democrats met at the invitation of SPD leader Lars Klingbeil to discuss the course. Because how the SPD feels about Russia depends on who you listen to in the SPD.
For example, Michael Roth, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, . For Ralf Stegner, on the other hand, the former party vice, is too much. Most recently, Manuela Schwesig, Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania,
Nevertheless, Scholz sees the SPD as “very united” at this point, as he said in the ZDF interview. The party stands “behind the policy pursued by the chancellor.” And that was “very clearly, by the way, for a very long time and always very precisely described.” Meaning: The “high price” that Russia would have to pay in the event of an invasion of Ukraine – and which Scholz again did not specify.
It is understandable that Scholz does not respond to every request from his comrades and thus upgrades it. However, the chancellor is allowing many slogans on how to deal with Russia to circulate – while appearing increasingly absent-minded on this issue. At the same time, German foreign policy is “controlled in particular in the Chancellery” (and thus the first quarrel with the Green coalition partners started).
The Chancellor’s reserved demeanor may also explain why the SPD’s most controversial understanding of Russia is receiving so much attention: Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who is in the pay of Russian energy companies, also complained about “saber rattling” – .
Two chancellors from the SPD, one current and one former, with opposing opinions: What signal is Germany sending to the world? “If I understand the constitutional order of the Federal Republic of Germany correctly, there is only one Chancellor and that’s me,” said Scholz. That may seem belligerent, but it’s more of a fact than a rebuke.
The fact that Scholz does not spread verbally unnecessarily has an advantage: Those who remain vague cannot be pinned down to anything concrete. “Every sentence that you say as a politician has to be said in such a way that everyone understands it, even if you weren’t there,” Scholz once explained to why he answered the way he answered. Scholz wants to keep control and prevent quotes from becoming independent.
The disadvantage: It doesn’t create more clarity. “I have no travel plans,” Scholz replied on ZDF when asked if he was going to the Winter Olympics in Beijing. When asked specifically whether he would attend the Olympics, he explained: “I have no travel plans, so you can’t assume that I’ll suddenly turn up and say: Here I am.”
Strictly speaking, that’s not a “no”. In fact, it cannot be assumed that Scholz will travel to China one day before the opening of the Winter Games. However, pedants could ask themselves on Friday: Where is Olaf Scholz?
Source: Stern
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