"Embarrassing" and "undignified": Bundestag scandal after Selenskyj's speech makes waves abroad

Created: 03/18/2022, 04:52

By: Florian Naumann

The Bundestag gave an "unworthy" picture after Volodymyr Zelenskyj's speech - the opposition and traffic lights agreed on that.

There are mutual accusations.

Berlin - The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj spoke in the Bundestag on Thursday: In a speech strongly influenced by history, he made allegations and made new demands on Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).

However, the appearance in the German parliament was partly overshadowed by the handling of the appointment - and by a sometimes wild debate about the agenda.

Above all, Union and the factions of the traffic light coalition* accused each other of acting unworthy after Selenskyj's speech.

Loud displeasure rose again and again in the plenum.

The bone of contention was the schedule in the Bundestag: A debate on Volodymyr Zelenskyjs* speech was not planned, instead the Bundestag* went straight back to the agenda including the usual formalities.

CDU leader Friedrich Merz sharply reprimanded this – however, the Union had apparently also initially approved the plans.

The action made waves on social media.

Apparently, users from Germany apologized in English on Twitter for the negative image.

The scandal was also noticed abroad:

journalist Tom Nuttall, for example, wrote of an "embarrassing" transition to day-to-day business;

the Bundestag also needs a “turning point”.

Selenskyj speaks in the Bundestag: Parliament continues with formalities - and with mutual reproaches

Selenskyj had used German history as an argument for further support in two senses: 80 years after the bloody crimes of Germans in Ukraine, history is repeating itself with the Russian attacks on civilians, he said - and explained that Germany's hesitation in providing further support is building a wall".

For a long time, only “economy, economy, economy” played a role, he said, referring to the long adherence to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

However, the Bundestag spoke indirectly about the speech at best: First, Bundestag Vice-President Katrin Göring-Eckardt sent birthday wishes and made a series of formal personnel decisions as planned - then the Union took the floor for a debate on the rules of procedure.

Right now would be the right time for an "interim assessment" of Germany's actions in the Ukraine conflict, said Merz.

"Madam President, with all due respect, you are telling us this morning how the advisory board of the 'little researchers' is to be filled," he reprimanded.

The Union disapproved of the procedure.

CDU foreign expert Norbert Röttgen later explained in a tweet: "Today was the most undignified moment in the Bundestag that I have ever experienced!"

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This opened up a round of mutual reproaches.

For about 20 minutes after Zelenskyj's appearance, the parliamentarians spoke about whether a Ukraine debate was necessary - but not about the situation in Ukraine.

Bundestag after Selenskyj's speech: SPD defends action - uproar in the plenary

"Mr. President Selenskyj has just made a very urgent speech," said SPD MP Katja Mast in her reply to Merz - and was immediately interrupted by heckling.

“Listen up!” and “Kindergarten!” were among the plenary voices to be heard.

Selenskyj's words deserve "to be taken seriously," argued the parliamentary director of the SPD.

She referred to Scholz' government statement from the end of February.

That and the long speech that followed at the time were "appropriate" - the CDU and CSU also agreed to the meeting plans for the week, only to "roll backwards" hours later.

Her Left colleague Jan Korte reported that the Union and the Left had advocated a debate on Selenskyj's speech even before the agenda was approved.

"You have to be careful not to be as arrogant after 100 days as others are after 16 years!" he stormed towards the traffic light coalition.

Bundestag experiences scandal in Ukraine conflict: "Klamauk", "unworthy"

Green party leader Britta Haßelmann met with her first words to loud indignation from the opposition.

"I find it very unfortunate that Parliament did not fully succeed this morning in simply letting the President of Ukraine's speech sink in," she said and had to interrupt in view of the protest.

Merz apparently "heated up his faction that you have to do something about the situation," she suspected.

The Union agreed to the agenda - and did not explain until the point of the meeting whether it wanted a debate on the rules of procedure.

The CDU and CSU were looking for "the staging".

The AfD accused the Union of making "Klamauk" out of the debate.

FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr emphasized that the Bundestag was speaking "several times" this week about the Ukraine war * - in fact, "current hours" were on the program yesterday and on Thursday afternoon.

The British House of Commons and the US Congress also had "no partisan debates" on Zelenskyy's speeches.

"What you just did," Dürr turned to Merz, "was an unworthy spectacle."

Even after the conclusion of the debate on the rules of procedure, the dispute was not over.

Among other things, the CDU MP Sepp Müller once again criticized the procedure in the debate on the corona vaccination requirement.

He went on to tweet: "Traffic light reaction: read birthday wishes and move on to agenda.

I am ashamed of this ignorance," he said.

SPD MP Carlos Kasper turns the tables: "The behavior of the @cducsubt

after the speech by Ukrainian President Selenskyj is difficult to bear," he tweeted.

"Unworthy of the Bundestag."

The dispute was followed by the next sensitive date with the Bundestag debate on the corona vaccination requirement.

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