Scholz wants to explain the Ukraine course on television
Created: 05/02/2022, 05:35
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) at a meeting in Berlin.
© Michael Kappeler/dpa-POOL/dpa
The chancellor has been criticized for days.
Now he wants to explain his positions to a large audience.
His announced TV appearance coincides with opposition leader Merz's travel plans to Ukraine.
Berlin - After much criticism, Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to explain his course on the Ukraine war again in detail.
As reported by ZDF, the SPD politician will be a guest on the program "What now...?" tonight at 7.20 p.m.
Scholz made it clear over the weekend that he was sticking to his course despite allegations from the opposition.
"I make my decisions quickly - and in concert with our allies.
I am suspicious of hasty action and German going it alone," he told the "Bild am Sonntag".
At a May rally, Scholz emphasized: "We will continue to support Ukraine, with money, with humanitarian aid, but it also has to be said: We will support them so that they can defend themselves with arms deliveries, like many other countries in Europe." do that too.”
Merz criticizes - and plans a trip to Kyiv
The CDU chairman Friedrich Merz had accused the chancellor of "hesitation", "procrastination" and "timidity" in the Ukraine policy last Thursday in the Bundestag.
CSU boss Markus Söder accused the chancellor at a small CSU party conference on Saturday of shirking the German population in these difficult times.
"Such hesitation, hiding or avoiding it is unworthy of a German chancellor," he said in Würzburg.
"Germany has been making an embarrassing figure for weeks."
Merz himself now wants to travel to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv to get an idea of the situation and the requests for support.
The CDU spread a message from its chief of staff Jacob Schrot on Twitter, in which he wrote without naming a date: "Friedrich Merz is indeed planning a trip to Ukraine."
According to information from "Bild" and "Tagesspiegel", Merz wants to start this Monday.
According to the "Tagesspiegel", the Federal Criminal Police Office is said to have advised him to postpone the trip for security reasons.
Something like this needs a longer lead time.
Union faction vice Johann Wadephul (CDU) spoke in the ARD program "Anne Will" with a view to the planned trip to Merz from an important sign.
CSU defense politician Florian Hahn called on Scholz to travel to Ukraine like the leader of the opposition.
"Words must also be followed by deeds," Hahn told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Monday).
"Anyone who, like the Federal Chancellor, proclaimed the turning point and then went into hiding for weeks on end, leaves an uneasy feeling, not only among allies."
Strack-Zimmermann: "Be very specific"
The FDP defense expert Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann emphasized in "Anne Will" how important it is to prepare well for such a trip.
"But it's not about who drives first, who drives last." If you drive, then you have to bring something with you.
"That means you have to be very specific."
You do not believe that the chancellor will be driven by the travel plans.
Strack-Zimmermann, chairwoman of the Bundestag's Defense Committee, recently traveled to Ukraine himself.
At the same time, the FDP politician regretted the secrecy surrounding the arms deliveries made to Ukraine.
She thinks this is a mistake, "because this is much more than some can imagine".
SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert meanwhile rejected Söder's criticism of Scholz in the "Augsburger Allgemeine" (Monday).
"As so often, Söder does not do politics, but relies on moods.
In times of war, riots and riots are not the right tone for a leading politician," said Kühnert.
After two years without folk festivals, the Bavarian Prime Minister seems to have lost the sense that one also bears state political responsibility for snappy beer tent speeches.
Buschmann warns against petty disputes between parties
Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) called for everything to be avoided in these times “that looks like a tactical, petty party dispute”.
He told the Rheinische Post: “Ukraine has every right to defend itself against the Russian attack.
She has our resolute support - not only with words and diplomacy, but also with financial support and delivery of weapons." The Chancellor emphasized this again at the weekend on behalf of the Federal Government.
more on the subject
At Lanz: FDP expert expresses a lack of understanding about Scholz – and indicates interference from the Chancellery
Dispute over delivery of heavy weapons comes to a head
Party congress: FDP is looking for a course in Ukraine
On Tuesday, the federal government approved the delivery of Gepard anti-aircraft tanks to the German armaments industry.
They are the first heavy weapons to be delivered directly from Germany to Ukraine.
Before the Ukraine war, the principle applied was not to hand over weapons to crisis areas.
On Thursday, the Bundestag also passed a joint motion by the SPD, Greens, FDP and CDU/CSU with a plea for the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine.
dpa
