How much support is Kyiv getting from Berlin?
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has displayed unusual force when countering accusations from the opposition that Germany is being too timid in its support for Ukraine: "We are providing comprehensive help," Scholz said during a budget debate in the Bundestag on Wednesday. As well as the weapons already supplied, Kyiv will receive the modern Iris-T air defence system, Gepard tanks and self-propelled howitzers from Berlin, he added. Commentators see this as just the beginning.
At last clear words from Scholz
Der Tagesspiegel was impressed by the chancellor's response to the accusation by CDU/CSU leader Friedrich Merz in the Bundestag that Ukraine is not receiving sufficient support:
“The head of government listed precisely and comprehensively the weapons systems that Germany has already delivered to Ukraine and will continue to deliver - including modern and 'heavy weapons' such as Gepard tanks, an air defence system and multiple rocket launchers, whose absence Merz had expressly complained about. This was overdue and urgently needed in view of the accusations from Ukraine and Eastern Europe as well as the sometimes heated debate in Germany. ... The chancellor should set himself the task of always speaking this clearly.”
The whisperer bares his teeth
Olaf Scholz is known for his cautiousness and whispering tone, but at least this time he showed a different side of himself, writes Corriere della Sera:
“Yesterday morning in the Bundestag Scholz raised his voice and bared his teeth during the debate on the finance bill. The leader of the Christian Democratic opposition, Friedrich Merz, accused him of waffling on the topic of arms deliveries to Ukraine and undermining Germany's credibility. Not at all intimidated, the chancellor responded with a barrage of facts and figures about deliveries to Kyiv. ... But one speech alone under Norman Foster's dome won't make spring come.”