It’s Friday the 13th and the first coalition skirmishes in the traffic light alliance. It is only superficially about individual questions. In fact, distrust of the chancellor is growing. And that just two days before the important state elections in Germany’s most populous state. For Olaf Scholz it’s getting dicey.
This Friday, the Defense Committee is dealing with the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine – and the suspicion, not only expressed by the defense industry, that the Chancellor and his office are delaying these weapons deliveries. And with the argument that Germany must always move in the convoy of the West. No “German special path”, says the Chancellor.
But this principle of the chancellor turns the small question into a big one in terms of state policy. It reads: Should Germany assume a leading role in the western alliance? That’s what Greens and Liberals expect from him. But Scholz doesn’t want to. And Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), the chairwoman of the defense committee and therefore hardly to be ignored as Scholzen’s liberal tormentor, has a reason that she dresses in a very, very bad sentence.
The “NZZ” asked Strack-Zimmermann about Scholz’s leadership qualities. The question is absolutely legitimate, because Scholz has not only claimed this leadership once. Scholz even claims to be the mastermind for a Western strategy for Ukraine. Now on to that the tomboyish, to Scholz’s chagrin, but above all independent and therefore hardly to be disciplined parliamentarian:
“I would be happy if we at least – to stay with the image – marched in step with our partners (the word “march” should make a number of Social Democrats flush with anger) and not give the impression that the Germans had to Always persuade them to act first.” But the liberals in the liberal newspaper, which is critical of Germany, did not leave it at that. Guide?
“If the chancellor ever wants to fill this role, he needs a fairly broad back.” The subjunctive irrealis means that, from Strack-Zimmermann’s point of view, Scholz is not in the lead. An opinion shared by at least Toni Hofreiter among the Greens, who has also been an independent since he did not become a minister.
It is the combination of an unfulfilled leadership role, arrogance and a lack of respect for freely elected parliamentarians that led to discharge among liberals today. Not for the first time. On April 24, Strack-Zimmermann had already dealt with the Chancellor’s leadership qualities.
A country as big as Germany in a crisis as big as that in Ukraine must lead. And this leadership must come from Olaf Scholz – “not only economically, but also militarily”. And then: “And for those who don’t want to take on this role, I say, then they might be sitting in the wrong place at the wrong moment.” Now that doesn’t mean that the entire coalition is ruined.
What can be seen from the fact that Strack-Zimmermann and the defense policy spokesman Marcus Faber are currently distributing sedatives after the defense committee meeting. What remained open could certainly be clarified in a next meeting. However, this requires that Olaf Scholz also accepts a second “invitation”.
The intelligence needs of Defense Committee members arise from two types of decisions – those that have been made but are difficult to explain, and those that have not yet been made, which are also difficult to explain. Scholz’s federal government has promised to supply Ukraine with Cheetah tanks. But that will take time. Was this “will last” intentional?
The “Marder” and Leopard 1 tanks were not delivered because the Federal Security Council has not yet decided on them, although Scholz promised that it would not take that long. But apparently it does.
Let’s go one level higher. The Union, the Greens and the FDP are largely in agreement on security policy issues. In any case, as SPD, Greens and FDP. The phantom pains are still widespread among the Social Democrats. Many there cling to a concept of pacifism that the Greens have overcome in record time.
A Jamaica coalition could replace a traffic light government immediately and without new elections. That would be very unusual, but it’s not impossible. Who would have believed three months ago that Greens would justify peace love with arms deliveries?
Finally, the North Rhine-Westphalia election this Sunday. There it smells of black and green for several reasons. Perhaps the most important: The Greens know the SPD. And have had to put up with this arrogant coalition partner for three prime ministers.
It all started back then with Johannes Rau, an actually affable man who drank Pils and smoked HB cigarettes. However, he thought the Greens were an accident of history. And the social democrat has a nice quip that has been going on for decades:
“Better a little house in the countryside than a green one in the house.”
