The announcement was made at the right time. On Friday, February 24, Germany indicated that it would supply eighteen Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, four more than planned. One year to the day after the start of the war, the message was clear: if Berlin was slow to give the green light to sending combat tanks to Kiev at the end of January, no one should now doubt its determination to deliver.
This displayed voluntarism, twelve months after the start of hostilities, is also a way of marking another anniversary: that of the speech delivered by Olaf Scholz from the rostrum of the Bundestag, on February 27, 2022. Three days after the invasion of Ukraine , the German chancellor announced that Berlin was going to supply weapons to Kiev, get out of its dependence on Russian gas and create a special fund of 100 billion euros to modernize the Bundeswehr. In doing so, he promised, “we are going to invest more than 2% of gross domestic product in our defence”the threshold set by NATO for its members by 2024.
A year later, what remains of this founding speech? For the conservative opposition, which warmly applauded the Social Democratic Chancellor at the time, the results are meager. “In fact, the Zeitenwende [le changement d’époque]these are fine words, but hardly any actionbelieves Roderich Kiesewetter, specialist in defense issues at the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Of the 100 billion euros promised for the Bundeswehr, barely more than a tenth has already been earmarked. On arms deliveries, we could have gone much faster if the Chancellor had not constantly kept his foot on the brakes. In the speech of the Zeitenwende, there was a promise of leadership. Finally, Germany was to play a leading role in Europe. A year later, we are still waiting. »
“The path traveled is enormous”
To those who criticize the chancellor for not having done enough, his supporters reply that he has already done a lot: “You have to remember where you come from. Before the war, Germany had the principle of not supplying arms to countries at war. A year later, she sends battle tanks. The path traveled is enormousobserves Michaël Roth, Social Democrat (SPD) chairman of the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee, for whom Mr. Scholz has acted at the right pace. Slow trial is easy. But when you’re chancellor, it’s important to take the citizens with you. For such ruptures in our foreign and defense policy to be accepted, it necessarily takes some time. »
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