Taurus delivery
Tone in coalition tightens ahead of Taurus vote
CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt: Chancellor Scholz should help clarify contradictions in the Taurus debate. photo
© Serhat Kocak/dpa
The Union is voting again in the Bundestag on the delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine. If coalition MPs also vote for it, it could cause more trouble at the traffic lights.
Before the new vote on the delivery of Taurus missiles to the Ukraine, the tone in the coalition is becoming more tense. SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich demanded that the coalition partners FDP and Greens take action for MPs who support a proposal from the opposition CDU/CSU for the provision of cruise missiles. “I clearly stated my expectations to both coalition partners this morning,” said Mützenich.
On Thursday, the Bundestag will vote on the Union’s motion by name. The leaders of the FDP and the Greens confirmed on Tuesday that their groups are in favor of a delivery of Taurus. They still refused to approve the Union proposal because they consider it a tactical game.
Ukraine applied for the delivery of the cruise missiles with a range of 500 kilometers in May last year. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) rejects it because he fears that it will drag Germany into war.
In the first vote on a Union application for a Taurus delivery three weeks ago, FDP MP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann voted yes. Mützenich criticized this sharply. He accused the FDP of having nevertheless put the dissident on the list of speakers in the debate. “I found that not only unusual, but (…) also hurtful to me personally. And I hope that this has consequences within the respective factions.” Mützenich also criticized it as “very indecent” if members of other parliamentary groups insulted the Chancellor. He didn’t name any names.
Merz: It’s about “very fundamental questions about Ukraine’s defense capability”
The chairman of the FDP parliamentary group, Christian Dürr, called the Union’s proposal a “symbolic” act that did not help the matter. With a view to possible dissenters, he said. “There are no changing majorities in coalition governments (…).” The deputy FDP chairman Wolfgang Kubicki recently said in an interview that, like Strack-Zimmermann, he was close to voting for the Union motion three weeks ago. This time he could imagine at least twelve MPs voting yes.
Green party leader Britta Haßelmann said it was “quite obvious” that part of the Union faction wanted to “make a contribution to domestic policy” with the motion initiative. “I do not share this intention and we will not support it.” At the same time, Haßelmann emphasized that it was fundamentally clear to her group that the Taurus system “should and can be part of supporting Ukraine in its defensive fight against Russia.”
CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz emphasized that, in his view, Thursday’s vote was not about a single weapon system. Rather, it is “about very fundamental questions of Ukraine’s defense capability.” The country is in a very difficult situation and its defense is becoming increasingly difficult. “Anyone who refuses this aid to Ukraine does not increase the chances of peace, but rather increases the risk of war,” warned Merz.