In these days after the Russian military attack on Ukraine, many things are extraordinary. This not only applies to the timing of the special session of the Bundestag. For the first time, Parliament meets on a Sunday. It also affects the speeches of most politicians who take the podium. The session lasts three and a half hours and has only one item on the agenda, dealing with Putin’s war of aggression. This legislative period is only just beginning, but one can already say that this Bundestag session will probably be the most notable of it.
It was convened on the initiative of Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz. On this sunny, cold day he is making a government statement that just a week ago he had no idea would be necessary. Not to mention its content: SPD Chancellor Scholz announces a massive rearmament of the Federal Republic. For this purpose, a so-called special fund of 100 billion euros will be formed. The funds are to be used for investments and armaments projects. “Let’s secure the special fund in the Basic Law,” says Scholz in the direction of the Union faction, whose votes he needs for this.
In addition to the new special fund, annual defense spending is also to be increased. From now on, according to Scholz, the government will give more than two percent of the gross domestic product to defense “year after year”. “We have to invest significantly more in the security of our country in order to protect our freedom and our democracy in this way,” says Scholz. That means a major national effort.
The otherwise sober SPD politician uses big words in his speech, which is much clearer than many before, also on this topic. According to Scholz, Putin’s attack on Ukraine marks a turning point in the history of our continent. “That means the world afterwards is no longer the same as before.” With his attack, Putin shattered the European security order that had been in effect for almost half a century since the Helsinki Final Act. Europe must draw the necessary conclusions from this. “The core question is whether we have the strength to set limits on warmongers like Putin,” says Scholz. But that requires your own strength.
As an important measure, Scholz announced continued support for Ukraine: “As you know, we decided yesterday that Germany will deliver weapons,” says the Chancellor. “We couldn’t give any other answer.” The war will also prove to be a catastrophe for Russia. An unprecedented package of sanctions was put together. It’s about Stinger missiles and anti-tank guns.
“We are excluding the Russian banks from Swift,” said Scholz, addressing another U-turn in German politics that had become known the previous evening. Russia’s exclusion from the international financial transaction system was approved after pressure from other European countries. In the Bundestag, the Chancellor received great applause for the sentence, including from the Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk, who followed the entire debate from the guest gallery. He was greeted at the beginning of the session by the President of the Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, and received standing applause from the MPs for several minutes – as well as a hug from former Federal President Joachim Gauck, who was sitting next to him. Only the AfD remained seated.
In his speech, Scholz also addressed the Russian population directly, who courageously protested against the war at demonstrations. “We know you are many. Don’t give up,” says Scholz. He leaves no doubts about his own determination. As much diplomacy as possible without being naïve remains the premise of politics, says Scholz. But the most important thing is: “We will never accept violence as a political tool. We will not rest until peace is secured in Europe.” When he finishes his government statement after a good half hour, the MPs get up again and clap for minutes.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Economics Minister Robert Habeck (both Greens) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) later spoke for the government, all of whom supported the sanctions that had been decided, even if they could demand a lot from their own people. Lindner surprised with the sentence: “Renewable energies free us from dependencies. Renewable energies are therefore freedom energies.”
Friedrich Merz does not destroy unity either – at least at the beginning of his speech. “We have a clear view of this war and its only responsible: Vladimir Putin,” he says. “He has now finally become a war criminal and is visible to everyone.” His parliamentary group co-signed the motion for a resolution by the traffic light parties, which was passed at the end and in which all of the demands were listed again. He also pledged his parliamentary group’s support for upgrading the Bundeswehr. Anchoring the financing for this in a special fund and in the Basic Law “cannot be done with a government statement on Sunday morning alone,” says the CDU leader. “We’ll have to talk about that calmly and in detail.”