As of: February 29, 2024, 11:42 a.m
By: Franziska Schwarz
Comments
Press
Split
Markus Lanz talks to Ralf Stegner about German Taurus rockets and the Ukraine war.
The conversation with the SPD foreign politician becomes heated.
Hamburg - Ralf Stegner defended the Chancellor's no to Taurus deliveries on ZDF - and described the critics' debate as "fetishistic".
Scholz's rejection of a delivery to Ukraine was “right and important,” said Stegner on Markus Lanz's show on Wednesday evening.
It is important that Germany signals its undiminished support in the conflict with Russia, but continues not to become a party to the war.
The SPD politician was visibly annoyed after just 23 minutes in the Polit Talk edition.
Then the “fetish-like” word slipped out.
However, in the group with civil rights activist Irina Scherbakova, journalist Marcus Bensmann and military expert Christian Mölling, he received some opposition to his position.
“Let’s talk about Taurus!”, moderator Markus Lanz demanded and Stegner contradicted that Germany was making “tremendous efforts” for Ukraine.
Lanz admitted that Germany was contributing “eight billion euros from national funds” – whereupon Stegner snorted: “We are by far the second largest supporter
(editor’s note: after the USA)
and the largest in Europe!”
Reach as far as Russia: Stegner defends Scholz in the dispute over Taurus cruise missiles
The dispute over the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine has been causing controversy in Germany for days and weeks.
While politicians from the FDP, the Greens and the Union are pushing for the commitment to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) clearly rejected the demand.
The head of government justifies his refusal to deliver the cruise missiles by saying that Germany could be drawn into the war in Ukraine.
The long-range weapons have a range of 500 kilometers and could theoretically be fired into Russian territory.
SPD politician Stegner sees the world in “fever madness”
But Lanz did not accept the Chancellor's arguments in his broadcast.
There is a possible threat of a Russian breakthrough on the military front in Ukraine.
With the help of the Taurus rockets, this could perhaps be prevented, the moderator quoted the arguments of the Chancellor's critics.
But Stegner sees it differently.
He referred to air defense delivered to protect the population and promised ammunition for the soldiers.
Against this background, the Taurus debate was a “fetish debate,” said Stegner.
“You can have different opinions on that – and I’m not a military expert – but I see different opinions,” he added.
“And the Chancellor has taken his oath of office to prevent harm to the German people,” he clarified.
My news
“Bastards”: Navalny team rages after Putin’s harassment at funeral – and makes explosive decisions read
17 mins ago
“They think war is a cartoon,” Putin jokes about the West – then the speech degenerates into reading election commercials
German Leopard 2: Ukraine soldier ruthlessly names life-threatening vulnerabilities
Macron's troop advance: Western special forces have long been in Ukraine, according to EU insiders
EU Parliament accepts controversial driving license reform: “Green control fantasies cannot find a majority” read
1 hour ago
War with Russia on NATO’s northern flank is no longer abstract: “They’re already building bunkers there.”
The world currently seems to him to be in a “fever madness”.
It is being acted as if “our participation in the war is just around the corner.”
But Germany has doubled its aid to Ukraine, “from the normal budget,” emphasized Stegner, only to then complain: “And of course the populists, the Wagenknecht people and the AfD are starting right there.
You can't play off external security against social security.” Overall, Stegner called for more sense of proportion in political decisions.
Taurus debate: SPD politician Ralf Stegner on “Markus Lanz” (ZDF) on February 28, 2024 © Andrea Bienert/Bundeswehr/dpa/ZDF-Mediathek/Montage: IPPEN.MEDIA
Traffic light argues about defense and military spending: “Debt brake like celibacy”
In fact, Germany is one of the largest donor countries for arms aid in the Ukraine war.
In view of current developments and possible threats from Russia, increased investment should be made in defense, at least that is what the traffic light coalition agrees on.
But there is a dispute over the question of where the money should come from.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) recently proposed not increasing social spending further for three years - this met with resistance within the coalition.
Stegner had also warned against pitting military spending against social spending.
He said on the Phoenix
station
a good two weeks ago: “We have to ensure both, security on the one hand and social cohesion on the other. This is the only way we can get what is necessary in a democracy so that populists don't win “We don’t end up in a situation where our security is increasingly threatened.”
It is not an option to make cuts to the weakest in order to have more money available for military spending and to justify this with the debt brake.
“Conservatives in Germany are discussing the debt brake and how the Vatican views celibacy.
“That is not appropriate,” said Stegner.
At the same time, the SPD politician spoke out in favor of further pushing forward diplomatic efforts with a view to the war in Ukraine.
With Sweden and Finland joining NATO, the Baltic Sea will be strengthened and NATO will be strengthened.
Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin didn't want that.
(frs)