The center-left leader had surprised even close allies in his three-party coalition when he announced on February 27 a “seasonal change” in Germany’s foreign policy to boost defense spending and ease its restrictive stance on arms exports to conflict zones. Six weeks later, prominent politicians from allied parties urged the Social Democrats to follow suit, after Germany was accused of delaying the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine and blocking a major ban on Russian oil and gas. Solz must “not just whistle his lips, but start whistling,” said Marie-Agnes Strak-Zimmermann of the Free Democrats, which chairs the Bundestag’s defense committee. In the face of the apparent failure of financial sanctions to stop Vladimir Putin’s military campaign, he said the focus should be on a hard line. “There is only one answer that Russia understands: to keep trying to end the war through talks – but with one hand clearly in the sheath,” Strack-Zimmerman said. “This means that Germany must also supply Ukraine with heavy weapons to help it defend itself, if it can be handled by the Ukrainian army.” Her appeal was echoed by Anton Hofreiter, a leading figure on the left of the German Green Party: “The problem lies with the chancellor,” Hofreiter told Deutsche Welle television. “We must finally start supplying Ukraine with what it needs, and that is heavy weapons.” He continued: “I can only guess why the chancellor presses the brakes like that. I see no logical reason for this. “But with his actions, the chancellor not only damages the situation in Ukraine, but also massively damages Germany’s reputation in Europe and the world.” Hofreiter and Strack-Zimmermann, along with Michael Roth of the SPD, traveled to Ukraine earlier in the week. By the end of March, Germany had supplied 186 million euros worth of military supplies to Ukraine, including rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft missiles, machine guns and ammunition, but not heavy weapons such as tanks, helicopters or fighter jets. . Over the weekend, Ukraine’s ambassador to Berlin, Andrij Melnyk, expressed Germany’s desire to help his country against an impending large-scale Russian attack by delivering Leopard tanks, Marder 2000 infantry vehicles, Panzerobra radar and a local radar. . “With them we can not only try to stop the expected huge Russian attack in the east, but also recapture the occupied territories in the south,” Melnik told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. According to the newspaper Welt am Sonntag, the Ukrainian government has made an offer to Germany for 100 Panzerhaubitze 2000, which it hopes to buy directly from the German armed forces and which the latter will later replace with newly built armored artillery shells. The gap that this would create in Germany’s military arsenal could not be filled before 2024. Because of this, the Scholz government is said to be lukewarm about the deal. The chancellor said any arms deliveries to Ukraine should not jeopardize Germany’s commitments to NATO in other areas, such as the Baltic states. Soltz’s party also says Germany should not hand over heavy weapons to Ukraine until NATO allies reach a joint decision to do so. So far, only the Czech Republic has confirmed that it has sent T-72 tanks and BVP-1 infantry fighting vehicles. “The federal government is coordinating closely with our international partners,” said Rolf Mützenich, chairman of the SPD parliamentary group. “Germany must not go alone.” But Scholz critics say he is deliberately allowing bureaucratic hurdles to slow down an arms export decision in a bid to pacify those within his party who still insist on a diplomatic settlement with the Kremlin. “Of course there are members of the SPD parliamentary group who are still in a state of shock because their idea of Russia has brutally collapsed,” Strack-Zimmermann said. “I think the chancellor still has too much respect for their sensitivities.” A poll by pollster Infratest dimap published on Thursday found that a majority of German respondents were in favor of heavy weapons exports in the face of an energy embargo that could hit the German economy. Fifty-five percent of respondents were in favor, with only 37% being against. Clear opposition to arms exports was recorded only among supporters of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland.
