As of: February 27, 2024, 4:42 p.m
By: Jens Kiffmeier
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Rejects delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine: Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
© Carsten Koall/Andrea Bienert/Bundeswehr/dpa/Montage
Olaf Scholz has received a lot of criticism for saying no to the Taurus delivery to Ukraine.
But the Germans think it's good - that's what a survey shows.
Berlin – No Taurus cruise missiles for Ukraine: Olaf Scholz (SPD) made this decision some time ago.
But now the Chancellor has publicly justified his no for the first time - and thus triggered another controversial discussion.
Experts and defense politicians from his own traffic light coalition accused the head of government of distorting the facts.
But what about the opinion of the German population?
A current survey shows that, despite the experts' criticism, a majority of Germans support the Taurus no vote - at least a small ray of hope for Scholz, who has been battered in the polls.
Delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine: Survey confirms Scholz
In fact, a majority of Germans appear to share Chancellor Olaf Scholz's (SPD) concerns about a possible supply of Taurus cruise missiles for the Ukraine war.
This emerges from a survey published on Tuesday on behalf of
RTL
and
n-tv
.
According to the broadcaster's "Trend Barometer", 56 percent of German citizens consider the Chancellor's decision to be correct and believe that Germany should not provide Ukraine with precision weapons in the fight against Russia's war of aggression.
However, 35 percent of those surveyed are in favor of such a delivery.
The support for Scholz's decision is also reflected in the comments of those surveyed, who emphasized that Germany should not encourage further tensions and escalations in the region.
Too long a range – why Scholz rejects the Taurus delivery in the Ukraine war
On Monday, Scholz announced that he was clearly rejecting the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Scholz justified his decision with the risk of Germany becoming involved in the war.
“German soldiers must not be linked at any point to the goals that this system achieves.
Not even in Germany, he said at the
dpa
editors-in-chief conference.
Taurus is a precision weapon that can hit targets 500 kilometers away.
The Kremlin in Moscow, for example, is within this radius from the Russian-Ukrainian border.
Scholz: Unlike Great Britain, the Bundeswehr cannot control the Taurus' targeting
There has been repeated speculation recently that other countries such as Great Britain would modify the targeting of their long-range guided weapons and have a say in target selection, so that their weapons could not be suitable for attacks on Russia without the active participation of the British military.
However, this was never officially confirmed.
However, Scholz made an indirect reference to this in his justification and said: “What the British and French are doing in terms of target control and the accompaniment of target control cannot be done in Germany,” the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
quoted him as saying .
In this context, Scholz also emphasized that this case would also require the approval of the Bundestag.
Interference in Ukraine war: Traffic light factions disagree on Taurus issue
However, the decision and the reasons provided met with different reactions.
Not only experts, but also politicians from various parties have criticized Chancellor Scholz's decision.
In particular, FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann told
Spiegel
that she was “stunned” by the Taurus no vote.
She accused Scholz of using a “long-refuted argument” that Bundeswehr soldiers had to be deployed in Ukraine.
Strack-Zimmermann argued that German soldiers were not needed for Taurus on Ukrainian soil and called the Chancellor's claim false.
The Greens were also irritated.
The deputy parliamentary group leader of the Green Party in the Bundestag, Agnieszka Brugger, wrote on X: “No one who calls for Taurus wants Germany to become a war party.
I reject this accusation.
According to everything I know, this connection is not factually correct.” CDU foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen also made similar comments on social networks.
The Chancellor only finds understanding in the SPD.
Party leader Rolf Mützenich supported the Chancellor.
“I want to make it very clear that what the Chancellor said is shared by the SPD parliamentary group,” said the Social Democrat on Tuesday on the sidelines of a party conference in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt.
Losses on many sectors of the front: Ukraine wants to attack supply lines with Taurus missiles
Ukraine has been pushing for the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles from the Bundeswehr's stocks for months.
In view of high losses and setbacks on many sectors of the front, the armed forces say they want to use precision weapons primarily to attack Russia's supply lines behind the front.
In contrast to the British Storm Shadow and SCALP cruise missiles, the German missiles are considered more powerful with a longer range.
Because of Scholz's concerns, there have recently been considerations of exchanging rings between Germany and Great Britain.
(
jkf
)