2024-03-25 00:43:48
Chancellor Scholz criticizes the debate about the delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine as ridiculous. The Union faction counters. And makes clear promises in the event of a government takeover.
Regardless of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Taurus rejection, the leadership of the Union parliamentary group expects that the SPD politician will ultimately agree to deliver the cruise missiles to Ukraine.
“I can definitely imagine it,” said the parliamentary director of the CDU/CSU representatives, Thorsten Frei, to the German Press Agency in Berlin. “It seems to me undisputed that the Taurus is the cruise missile that would best meet Ukrainian needs.”
It’s about hitting Russian supply lines and thus “providing a certain amount of relief as far as the Russian attacks in Ukraine are concerned,” Frei explained his assessment. “This is all the more necessary because the Ukrainians have to make do with a fraction of the ammunition that the Russians have available.” He added: “That’s why I could well imagine that the Chancellor will eventually get to the point where he will do it.”
Union rejects Scholz’s criticism of the Taurus debate
Frei sharply rejected Scholz’s criticism of the debate about a Taurus delivery, which was also pushed by the Union. Scholz communicates too late and is therefore “a key reason for the way the debate is going.”
The Chancellor also criticized the fact that Germany is Ukraine’s second-largest arms supplier in terms of volume: “The debate in Germany cannot be surpassed in terms of ridiculousness.” He would like to see a discussion that does not discredit prudence as something that is hesitant. Frei replied: “It would be important for the Chancellor to lead from the front, to make clear announcements and, above all, not to stir up additional uncertainty in communication.”
Scholz also rejects a Taurus delivery on the grounds that Germany could be drawn into the war. Frei said that if the Chancellor “makes a political decision, then of course it must first be accepted. He is the Federal Chancellor.” However, Scholz’s recent statements “did not make the decision any more plausible”. When asked whether German soldiers would have to be deployed in a Taurus delivery to Ukraine, the Chancellor “provided a reason that objectively contradicted the assessment of the air force command.”
After the Union parliamentary group recently submitted proposals for the delivery of Taurus rockets to the Bundestag twice and received partial approval from the FDP, there will now be no similar vote in the foreseeable future. “At the moment I have not noticed any change in the debate, and therefore there is no need why we should put something like this to the vote again this week or in one of the following weeks,” said the CDU politician.
Frei: Don’t make foreign policy dependent on moods
Regarding the question of whether this had anything to do with upcoming election campaigns, given the population’s rather negative attitude towards a Taurus delivery, Frei said: “Of course you have to see how people assess the situation.” Foreign policy decisions in particular cannot be made dependent on mood.
“Regardless of the fact that we may not be able to score points publicly, we believe our stance is correct.” When asked whether a future Union-led federal government would deliver Taurus missiles to Ukraine, Frei replied: “Yes.”
Union: No easing of the debt brake
There are also considerations that if Donald Trump is elected US President there could be demands for more German financial aid for Ukraine. Nevertheless, Frei stuck to the debt brake and the rejection of a special fund for aid to Ukraine. “I would rule out such a special fund today,” he said. Such funds are created “when major challenges arise for the state out of nowhere,” so to speak. This is not the case with Ukraine.
Scholz’s responsibility as Chancellor is to draw the right conclusions from the correct analysis of a turning point. “The federal government has not delivered on this in the last two years,” criticized Frei. “And it wouldn’t get better if we made more debt-financed money available.”