Given the genetic disposition of the British to polite composure, it was refreshing for us blunt individuals to hear the UK’s former defence minister Ben Wallace speak Klartext (plainly): “As far as the security of Europe goes he is the wrong man, in the wrong job, at the wrong time.”
“He” is the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who let it slip last week that Britain and France were helping Ukraine to target their missiles in the fight against the Russian invaders.
Wallace’s sentiment is shared by Alicia Kearns, chair of the UK parliament’s foreign affairs committee, who denounced Scholz’s comment as “wrong, irresponsible and a slap in the face to allies”. Meanwhile a close aide of the French president is alleged to have remarked: “When Putin coughs, Scholz looks for a bunker.”
A Berlin-based diplomat I recently spoke to said: “Emmanuel Macron and Scholz aren’t even talking to each other.”
Germany alienating two major allies could be seen as a complete catastrophe for European stability, Ukraine, and our country’s reputation – but there are benefits – Scholz stands to gain something on the home front.
As far as Bundeskanzler go, Germany has never had a weaker one. I’m referring to power: Scholz chairs (rather than leads) the country’s first three-party coalition, whose members fundamentally disagree with each other. His own SPD chose two more left-leaning backbenchers as party leaders instead of him.
Regarding Ukraine, only the US sends more weaponry and ammunition than Germany. Nevertheless, Scholz’s repeated dithering, concerning Leopard tanks for instance, has damaged his reputation abroad and domestically.
A significant number of Germans, however, particularly within the SPD, still prefer us to be kept out of it all. The far right, far left and moderate left share a deep-rooted anti-Americanism and a lingering fondness for Russia.
The controversy surrounding Taurus, a German cruise missile with 300-mile range – twice that of the Franco-British Storm Shadow system already in use in Ukraine – further demonstrates that Germans seem more afraid of Russia losing the war than of Ukraine losing it.
Embarrassingly for Germany, with its data-protection fetish, Putin’s spies intercepted a 40-minute video conference call, gleefully spilling the beans via the RT channel of German airforce generals discussing operational details regarding Taurus. Officials tried to play it down as a one-off blunder, with a military chief joining an online call via hotel wifi from Singapore, claiming no real harm had been done. However, the conversation chattily confirmed UK and US military activities in Ukraine that those involved do not openly discuss.
Trust among Nato allies in Germany had already been damaged, by Scholz himself. Justifying his refusal, despite Ukraine’s pleas, to send Taurus, he argued that British and French personnel operated the cruise missiles they donated to Ukraine and that Taurus would likewise require German troops to program them in Ukraine. Zis would make us an active participant in ze war, which he cannot allow!
Outcry from French and UK allies was followed by German military experts and even his Green and FDP partners accusing him of “untruths”. And indeed, the 240 Taurus missiles Germany sold to South Korea didn’t arrive there with a bunch of Germans as an add-on, wrapped in camouflage gift paper.
Without admitting fault, Scholz next cited control issues, insinuating that Ukrainians, once in possession of Taurus, could use it against Moscow. In other words: cannot be trusted. Immediately, other Nato allies insisted that Ukraine fully complies with their demands, challenging Scholz’s flawed reasoning again.
On the Taurus issue, however, Scholz finds support in popular opinion, with polls showing 59% against sending missiles vs 34% in favour. This opinion is of his own making: since 2022 Scholz has continually warned the nation about Moscow’s A-bomb, a potential third world war and the risk of Deutschland becoming a Kriegspartei (warring party) – portraying his own hesitancy as prudence and sober-mindedness to save Germans from aggression.
In a country with uniquely hysterical debates about what it would mean to be seen as an enemy in the eyes of Putin (spoiler: that’s already the case), Scholz’s course of (in-)action makes sense. There is reason to believe that the SPD’s electoral campaign will portray Scholz as a peace-driven statesman, keeping Germany out of harm’s way, regardless of the harm done to European unity and security.
With or without Taurus, Ukraine is, literally, running out of ammunition, while Scholz is handing it to Moscow: no one revels more in Nato discord than murderous Vlad.
