As of: March 16, 2024, 10:04 a.m
By: Kathrin Braun
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On the day of the Russia election, Scholz revived the Weimar Triangle at a meeting with Macron and Tusk.
But deep cracks remain.
Munich - It's a bit contradictory: the tips of the Weimar Triangle were actually supposed to meet in Berlin on Friday (March 15) to send a sign of unity to Vladimir Putin.
It is no coincidence that the presidential elections in Russia are taking place on the very day that Olaf Scholz receives his counterparts Emmanuel Macron and Donald Tusk in the Chancellery.
But the day before it became clear how deep the rifts between Germany and France have become: on the eve of his trip to Berlin, Macron reiterated his stance on NATO ground troops in Ukraine on French television.
“All of these options are possible,” he says – again rubbing a little salt in the Chancellor’s wound.
Who is afraid of Putin?
French President Emmanuel Macron and Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a meeting with Olaf Scholz in Berlin.
© IMAGO/Chris Emil Janssen
Macron presents himself as a Ukraine savior and makes Scholz look old
While Macron presents himself as a decisive Ukraine savior, Scholz (SPD) has to hear in the Bundestag that he is not doing enough for Ukraine - the Chancellor is "extremely nervous" and "thin-skinned" with his no to Taurus deliveries, complains the CDU -Boss Friedrich Merz.
The two heads of state are likely to go into the meeting with very different emotions.
And then there is Poland's new Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is currently seen as the beacon of hope for the Weimar Triangle.
The Weimar Triangle discussion format was originally launched in 1991, primarily to bring Poland closer to the European Union and NATO.
Now it's up to Poland, Germany and France to get back together.
Tusk should bring Scholz and Macron together – “Fewer words, more ammunition”
Since Macron did not rule out sending Western soldiers to Ukraine at a Ukraine summit in Paris three weeks ago, German-French relations have been shattered.
Can Tusk use his experience as EU Council President to repair the broken axis?
In any case, he doesn't come across as a conversation therapist.
“Fewer words, more ammunition,” he tweeted a few hours before the meeting in Berlin.
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Despite all the adversities, the heads of state presented themselves in harmony on Friday.
“Our unity is our strength,” says Scholz in front of the cameras, with his two counterparts at his side.
“Our three states in particular have a special responsibility.”
It was agreed on even more weapons for Ukraine, “on the entire world market.”
In addition, the production of weapons will be expanded and a “capability coalition for long-range rocket artillery” will be founded.
But he doesn't explain what that means in detail.
Tusk speaks of “bad rumors” about Scholz and Macron
Tusk, who took part in the Weimar Triangle format for the first time, speaks of “bad rumors” about disputes – the meeting showed that these are not true.
That doesn't really come across as believable.
In fact, the Prime Minister should only come to the conversation later so that Scholz and Macron can only talk in private after all the differences.
As expected, Macron also emphasizes the cohesion of the Weimar Triangle.
We won't rely on escalation, he promises.
And then adds: “We will do everything to ensure that Russia doesn’t win the war.”
In the Ukraine war, Scholz appears to be someone who is afraid of Putin
If you look closely, the Chancellor seems pretty lonely in this three-party alliance.
Even though he always emphasizes that Germany supplies most of the weapons to Ukraine in Europe, Poland and France appear to be the braver supporters.
Just a few days ago, Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said about the German-French dispute: “The presence of NATO troops in Ukraine is not unthinkable.
I welcome the French President’s initiative.” Both Macron and Sikorski accuse opponents of this idea of cowardice.
It's about "that Putin is afraid, not that we are afraid of Putin," explained the Polish Foreign Minister.
Despite Scholz's decisive no to Taurus, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius wants to make the cruise missiles operational again.
Half of the approximately 600 Taurus rockets that Germany owns probably need to be modernized.
(Kathrin Braun)