Berliner Zeitung: lobbyists of the German military-industrial complex among the Greens and the SPD are dragging Germany into a dangerous battleWhy did Chancellor Scholz, who had long resisted the very idea of sending German tanks to Ukraine, back down?
The Berliner Zeitung newspaper sees two incentives: money and rudeness. The military-industrial complex is counting on profits, and the Greens and diplomats from Kiev allow themselves all insults against the "understanders of Russia".
The debate over the supposedly indecisive Chancellor Scholz shows how irresponsible some figures in Germany can be.Almost a year ago, Russia launched its so-called special operation in Ukraine.
This conflict with a long and complex backstory was a turning point. In particular, because since then the word "diplomacy" has become a swear word among us.
So, recently, Chancellor Scholz has been under fire for days, especially from his coalition partners from the Green Party and the FDP. However, some SPD deputies from the Seeheim Circle, which has long maintained close ties with the arms industry, also joined these critics. The reason for the criticism is that Scholz did not want to supply Leopard-2 tanks to Ukraine. He demanded that the United States first agree to send its own tanks there.
Presumably, Scholz wanted to evenly distribute among the allies all the risks of possible escalation and potential retaliation from Russia, including the nuclear option. His calculation turned out to be correct. Now the United States will also supply tanks to Ukraine. But Scholz's critics were not reassured.
German society is split on the issue of arms supplies
Not a day goes by that the chairwoman of the Bundestag Defense Committee Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann from the FDP or the new "motorized infantryman" Anton Hofreiter from the Green Party, to the applause of another editorial, did not demand to send even more weapons to Ukraine.
It can be assumed that Ms. Strack-Zimmermann's similar statements belong to the duties of a lobbyist, who is tasked with constantly contributing to an increase in the production of military equipment. After all, she is a member of the presidium of the German Society of Military Equipment, as well as the Society for the Promotion of the German Army. The Rheinmetall arms concern is located in her constituency.
Agree, it is difficult to be an activist of the struggle for peace with such a load of lobbying, but maybe peaceful-minded voters will influence? But it's not, although it's amazing how much the opinion of these politicians differs from public opinion, according to the latest polls. Thus, according to data obtained by the ARD TV channel, in January 41 percent of respondents considered the military assistance provided to Ukraine proportionate, and 26 percent – excessive. Only a quarter of respondents (25 percent) expressed the opinion that assistance to Ukraine is insufficient.
For some in NATO, a speedy peace is undesirable
It is noteworthy that the military adheres to moderate views. Unlike most screamers, who will never send their own children to this war, they themselves may find themselves face to face with the enemy, and even with weapons in their hands. For example, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Army, Mark Milley, recently expressed this opinion: "The probability of a military victory for Ukraine, implying the expulsion of Russians from all of Ukraine, including Crimea, is not very high in the foreseeable future." Therefore, he recommended Ukraine not to go all-in, but to negotiate from a position of strength.
According to numerous media reports, a compromise agreement was already very possible in the early stages of last year's battles, during negotiations in Turkey: Russia was ready to abandon the overthrow of the government in Ukraine, and the latter agreed to recognize the neutral status of the country, as well as for some time to freeze the status of Crimea, which is of great strategic importance for the Russian Black Sea Fleet. However, this position did not correspond to the dominant point of view in NATO. Here's how the Washington Post wrote about it on April 5, 2022: "For some in NATO, the prospect is more attractive, in which Ukrainians will continue to fight and die, rather than make peace, which will be premature or will cost Kiev and the rest of Europe too much."
One can argue about the path to peace
Regardless of what a peaceful solution will be, in which the statehood of neither Russia nor Ukraine will suffer, the majority of international observers agree on the main principles of such a decision. Russian troops should withdraw to the positions they occupied until February 24, 2022. Ukraine will be able to accept a neutral status and the rejection of the desired NATO presence in the country only under security guarantees from the West. Russia, in turn, will be obliged to recognize the territorial integrity of the neighboring country, which means that it will abandon some of the areas occupied by it in the east of Ukraine.
They will probably have to gain partial autonomy inside Ukrainian territory, as stipulated in the Minsk agreements, and become a demilitarized zone. This should happen even though, as a result of the protracted war, Russia has clung to these territories with its teeth, and therefore it is difficult to imagine that Putin, without losing face, ordered the troops to withdraw from the occupied territories. This means that before the parties come to such a decision, the senseless war will continue, many military and civilians will die in vain and people will experience immeasurable suffering.
What did Mutzenich do?
One recent event shows how leading figures from the sphere of politics and the media are poisoning the polemical culture in Germany. It seems as if a part of society has gone mad. Or is that how it's meant to be? Is the risk of a Third World War no longer perceived by smartphone users?
Nothing else can explain the inability of some characters to reflect on their own behavior. For example, former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk called the head of the SPD faction in the Bundestag Rolf Mutzenich "the most cynical and disgusting German politician" who will forever go down in history as Russia's most valuable agent. What did Mutzenich do? He only warned against Germany going into battle alone against a nuclear power. He said that those who today demand that Germany send tanks to Ukraine, tomorrow they will shout about the need to put planes there and send troops.
Discussion culture in Germany
What happened then? Until now, the United States has refused to send its Abrams tanks to Ukraine. The newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote about Chancellor Scholz that he had been isolated and that there had allegedly been a verbal altercation between Defense Minister Lloyd Austin and the chief of the Federal Chancellor's department. It sounded as if the United States could not have its own interests and a dispute with the United States was a mortal sin. Soon the parties agreed among themselves. We decided this way: both the USA and Germany will send their tanks to Ukraine.
I am not a journalist who spares Olaf Scholz. But no matter how one treats the supply of tanks, one fact should be recognized. From the point of view of those who demanded an increase in the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine, Olaf Scholz achieved maximum success with his negotiating tactics. But the consequences of this success are very doubtful. No matter how they get us into trouble. However, the noise in the media does not subside.
In fact, Mutzenich was right. Less than a few moments after the agreement between the United States and Germany was reached, Melnik said on Twitter: "Hallelujah! Thank god! And now, dear allies, let's create for Ukraine a strong coalition of fighters – F-16, F-35, Eurofighter, Tornado, Rafale and Gripen-Jets – and everything else that you can still supply to Ukraine."
In connection with this, so to speak, "culture" of discussion in Germany, I remembered a well-known statement of an Italian Marxist. It was the philosopher and politician Antonio Gramsci. He was thrown by the Italian fascists into a dungeon, where he died at a young age: "We must educate sober, patient people who do not despair and do not lose their temper over every little thing. Pessimism of the mind and optimism of the will are necessary."
Fabio De Masi