Scholz question time in the Bundestag: The turning point that lasts too long

Chancellor Scholz promises in parliament to deliver more arms to Ukraine and reduce energy dependency on Russia. But the turning point lasts – and impatience grows with the challenges.

The horror of the pictures from the Ukrainian Bucha can still be felt among some parliamentarians in the Bundestag at noon. That’s why there was great applause when Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the massacre as a “war crime” in his speech and again called for the perpetrators to be held accountable.

But after that, the enthusiasm for Scholz’s words is restrained. Because the issue of arms deliveries to Ukraine is a burden for the traffic light government – and any attempt by the chancellor to sugarcoat the issue is in vain.

Everything that is right and important is delivered quickly, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht is trying everything, he argues. But the turning point is taking time, it was already a quick break in the previous policy to now deliver weapons.

Dismissed in the usual Scholz way

Opposition politicians remind him several times that other countries have delivered faster and provided better support – the Czech Republic, for example, with armored personnel carriers. A statement by Green Party politician Omid Nouripour is also quoted that some tanks are just standing around and could simply be delivered quickly.

In the usual Scholz way, he dismisses such remarks and does not leave out too many details about new deliveries. Germany is taking care of it, Parliament has to be satisfied with that.

Later, when things get emotional at the current hour, when the Union again calls on the federal government to finally take on a leadership role, finally to deliver weapons to the Ukrainians, to talk about it – Lambrecht slows down the debate. Silence has been agreed on deliveries, a well-known statement.

Chancellor Scholz announces further arms deliveries to Ukraine during questioning in the Bundestag

Kirsten Girschick, ARD Berlin, daily news at 4:00 p.m., April 6, 2022

Quick agreement on costs for refugees desired

With the war in Ukraine, the challenge for the traffic light government is greater than ever, as one notices in the debate. Because the economic consequences for Germany will also be a stress test in the coming days, the Chancellor is aware of that.

On the one hand, it is about taking in many refugees in Germany, so Scholz hopes that there will not be much dispute about financing the costs at state level. He would like a lot of solidarity, all refugees are welcome – an appeal to the prime ministers who want to talk about the costs at their conference tomorrow. A quick agreement is needed, little argument.

“Everything on the way”

But it is also about a lot of money when the parliamentarians keep asking the Chancellor when the relief package for the citizens will come. Rising energy prices and inflation are already pushing many people to their breaking point. Added to this is the fear of still being too dependent on Russia for energy issues.

Scholz lets the bureaucrats see through, refers to legislative processes in the Bundestag. Everything is on its way, the package is on its way.

“The world is not as simple as you make it out to be”

The next mammoth project is on the way on the same day, the Easter package from Economics Minister Robert Habeck, which Scholz also likes to mention as a success in his speech. Because another way out of dependence on Russia is a faster expansion of renewable energies.

That doesn’t happen overnight, as far as there is agreement. New supply agreements would also have to be concluded. The opposition is asking whether nuclear power plants can no longer be left running in order to become independent. “The world is not as simple as you paint it,” Scholz replies. Energy security is complicated, nuclear power plants cannot simply continue to run.

Many more promises in waiting

It also seems to be complicated with other traffic light promises, many of them social projects such as basic child security or citizen income. These are all projects that are in the coalition agreement and whose financing has now been postponed to next year.

A Social Democrat from their own ranks asks what significance these projects still have in the current situation and whether they can still be financed at all. “That is what we have set ourselves,” promises the Chancellor. You can tell that the traffic light government has big plans.