The fact that the federal government now agrees to the sending of Leopard tanks to Ukraine and that the USA is also sending main battle tanks is a success for Chancellor Scholz.
And it can be an important step towards a faster end to the war, comments Georg Anastasiadis.
After all, the doubting Germans have one certainty after the week-long spectacle about the leopards: Nobody in the world builds battle tanks as good as Germany - not even America's pride, the "Abrams", can hold a candle to the German big cat, the US government believes .
President Biden only has his allegedly unsuitable tanks shipped to Europe under protest.
The fact that he had to do it in the end is a success for the Chancellor, so to speak a "double boom": First, for historical reasons, not only German tanks should be rolling in the Ukraine.
And secondly, the protecting power USA will be forced close to Berlin's side.
There is no getting around the “release of the leopards”.
But regardless of whether one finds the Chancellor's actions "level-headed" or "hesitating": With their long and public hooliganism, Ukraine's allies have done Ukraine a disservice.
Valuable time has passed for the defenders to arm themselves against the next waves of attacks.
And Putin gratefully accepted the invitation to intervene in the debate with all sorts of nuclear threats and above all to scare the Germans.
The fact that he, of all people, the war criminal – with media support from the AfD and the Left Party – is now accusing the federal government of warmongering cannot be surpassed in terms of audacity.
The truth behind the Kremlin's carefully staged outbursts of anger is different: In the end, Putin will only have to negotiate with a strong Ukraine.
There is therefore no way around the “release of the leopards”, as the Greens praised the decision.
They serve to end this terrible war more quickly and thus Europe's security.
No one in the AfD and the Left Party needs to grieve that Putin, who is being harassed by cocky Ukrainians, allows himself to be carried away to some kind of insane acts.
Putin always acts coolly and rationally.
From the point of view of Berlin and Washington, a lot would already be gained if the aggressor Russia saw itself forced to agree to a ceasefire along the areas looted before February 24, 2022.
George Anastasiadis