Actually applies Chancellor Olaf Scholz (63, SPD) as calm and deliberate – but on Sunday he really got going at a May Day rally in Düsseldorf.
Scholz appeared emotionally and loudly at the demo of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) at lunchtime – and defended it Arms deliveries to Ukraine.
The Chancellor called out to the audience: “We will continue to support Ukraine – with money, with humanitarian aid, but it must also be said: We will support them so that they can defend themselves with arms deliveries.”
He respects every pacifism and every attitude, Scholz continued. And then yelled combatively: “But it must seem cynical to a citizen of Ukraine to be told to defend himself against Putin’s unarmed aggression.” That’s out of date!”
The reason for the offensive Chancellor’s speech: Counter-demonstrators had also gathered in front of the stage. They protested his appearance with whistles, calling him a “liar” and a “warmonger”.
It was probably this group of counter-demonstrators that made Scholz angryPhoto: David Young/dpa
However, Scholz’s speech can also be understood as a reaction to an open letter from around 30 celebrities. They appealed to him on Friday not to deliver more heavy weapons to Ukraine. Otherwise there would be a threat of a third world war, they wrote.
His Justice Minister Marco Buschmann gave up Twitter praise for the speech to the trade unionists. He wrote: “I think today Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a real Helmut Schmidt appearance.” The ex-Chancellor († 96) was known for his clear words.
Scholz always hesitates when it comes to Ukraine support
But it is also a fact: Scholz has been acting hesitantly since Kremlin tyrant Vladimir Putin (69) launched the major attack on Ukraine at the end of February.
Most recently, CDU leader Friedrich Merz (66) accused him of “hesitation” and “anxiety” in the Ukraine crisis.
So far, for example, the chancellor has refrained from traveling to the war zone. According to BILD information, because the SPD in particular was piqued after President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was uninvited by Ukraine President Volodymyr Selenskyj (44).
But ministers of the Greens would not travel either because, as BILD learned, they wanted to stand together. Merz, on the other hand, wants to travel to Kyiv on Monday.