Scholz bets on his 'prudent' Ukraine policy ahead of re-election bid - Politico
Kyiv • UNN
German Chancellor Scholz defends his position on not sending long-range missiles to Ukraine. His main opponent Merz is leading in the polls and supports the provision of Taurus to Kyiv.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is betting his political future on what he calls his cautious approach to Ukraine, Politico reports, UNN writes.
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In his speech to parliamentarians, Scholz said that he stood by his decision not to supply Kyiv with long-range missiles that could be used to strike Russian territory, claiming that this approach helped avoid an escalation of the war.
"I emphasize that I believe it is right that I played my part without change in ensuring that there was no escalation," Scholz said in the German parliament on Wednesday. - "I am glad that I was allowed to take responsibility in these difficult times, because I am sure that this helped us to act in a balanced and prudent manner in a dangerous situation.
With early elections in Germany scheduled for February after the collapse of Scholz's three-party coalition last week, the chancellor, as the newspaper notes, "seems to be a safer choice than his main opponent, Conservative leader Friedrich Merz, who has taken a more hawkish stance on military support for Ukraine.
Merz, who heads the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), criticized Scholz for refusing to supply long-range missiles to Ukraine. If the Kremlin refuses the ultimatum to stop bombing civilian targets in Ukraine, Merz said that Berlin should supply Kyiv with German-made Taurus cruise missiles.
According to current polls, Merz is likely to become the country's next chancellor. The German Conservatives are leading with a large margin of 32 percent, while the center-left Social Democratic Party of Scholz (SPD) is in third place with 16 percent, just behind the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
"But Scholz seems to believe that he can regain some of the SPD's lost ground by presenting himself as a reasonable choice for dealing with Russia's Vladimir Putin," the newspaper writes.
As the newspaper points out, Scholz has long tried to strike an "awkward balance" with Ukraine, touting the fact that Germany has provided more military aid to Kyiv than any other European country, while portraying himself as a leader who can prevent the war from spiraling out of control. Members of his SPD even call him the "chancellor of peace.
"Maintaining this position may prove difficult with Trump's return to the White House. The United States has been the largest source of military aid to Ukraine to date, but Trump has threatened to cut off aid, which could force European countries to increase their support," the publication notes.
Merz, for his part, reportedly avoided directly mentioning aid to Ukraine during his parliamentary speech on Wednesday.
"Germany needs a fundamentally different policy, especially when it comes to migration, foreign policy, security and European policy, as well as economic policy," he said.
