Olaf Scholz has only been German Chancellor for two months, but has already come under heavy criticism for his stance on the current crisis in Eastern Europe. Our Berlin correspondent Thomas Sparrow explains why.
When the new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz traveled to Washington for the first time in early February, he was not only greeted by Joe Biden at the White House but also by a host of negative headlines.
Scholz was described as an “invisible” chancellor and his government was questioned as an ally who, in the event of a war in Europe, might not be reliable enough.
Since then, Scholz and other members of his government have repeatedly come out in public to reiterate that Germany will act in concert with its allies in Europe and in NATO and that there is no reason to doubt Berlin.
His trips to Ukraine on Monday and Moscow on Tuesday also served for the Executive in Berlin to reinforce that commitment.
Before leaving, the foreign minister said that an aggression on the part of the Kremlin “would have very serious consequences for Russia” and that on that point he is “absolutely in agreement” with his allies.
But what are the doubts about the German position? And what do these controversies reveal about the style of government of Scholz, who has barely been German chancellor for two months?
Shipment of weapons to Ukraine
A first criticism is Germany’s decision, in contrast to other countries such as the United States or the United Kingdom, not to send weapons to Ukraine to strengthen that country’s defense capabilities in the event of an invasion.
The German argument is that the shipment of weapons could hinder a possible diplomatic solution and that Germany, with controversial exceptions, does not send weapons to conflict zones.
In this, Scholz has the support of the majority of Germans, who in recent polls They assured that sending weapons to Kiev would be a mistake. But his stance did not go down well especially in Ukraine and gave rise to criticism of the German commitment.
Those criticisms increased when the Government announced that it would send 5,000 helmets to Ukraine to help in the defense of the country, which was interpreted like a joke. “What kind of support will Germany send next? Pillows?” he asked. Mayor of KyivVitaly Klitschko.
Hence, Scholz was forced to reinforce that, beyond the arms refusal, his country is indeed supporting Ukraine, for example economically, and that it also plays an important role in NATO.
Germany, in fact, decided to strengthen its military presence in Lithuaniaanother NATO member, while Scholz announced during his visit to Kiev a additional loan of 150 million euros for that country.
The pipeline of controversy
A much more difficult issue for Berlin concerns its close economic relations with Russia, and in particular the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The pipeline is now complete and, pending regulatory approval, will transport gas directly from Russia to Germany.
Although there are politicians in both countries who have described the gas pipeline as a private sector project with no major political role, both in Washington and in several European capitals there is deep concern.
The criticism boils down to the fact that Nord Stream, in the view of those critics, gives Russia too much power while leaving Germany and Europe too vulnerable to Moscow’s interests.
Hence, United States President Joe Biden made it clear, when he met with Scholz, that in the event of a Russian invasion Nord Stream would not come into operation.
But Scholz has not been so clear. Although he assured that his country will act hand in hand with its allies and that all options are on the table, he has had difficulty even using the name of the gas pipeline in his public statements.
His reluctance has to do with legal doubts about a possible sanction against Nord Stream, but also with internal dynamics in Germany and, in particular, within his own party. Scholz is part of the SPD Social Democrats, who have prided themselves for many decades on building bridges with Russia.
Furthermore, the last Social Democratic chancellor before Scholz, Gerhard Schroeder, who was in power between 1998 and 2005, is not only very close to Putin but he has important positions in Russian energy companies, such as Rosneft, NordStream itself and soon Gazprom.
Added to this is the fact that the gas pipeline ends in a German federal state, Mecklenburg Vorpommern, which is governed by the SPD and where fostered relationships close to Russia.
Communication problem
On both controversial issues – the shipment of weapons to Ukraine and Nord Stream 2 – criticism of Scholz also has to do with his form of communication. Scholz has remained faithful to his cold, calm and reflective style, which in part helped him to reach the chancellorship.
But in moments of high tension, that style was criticized as “inappropriate”, while Scholz was described before his diplomatic tour as “almost invisible, inaudible”.
And this affected the popularity of the chancellor in Germany, who lost 17 percentage points in a survey in early February. Furthermore, 57 percent of Germans were dissatisfied with their government.
Hence, Scholz tried to give a much more open image in his trips to Washington, Kiev and Moscow, with more interviews and public statements.
It is possible that this change in strategy will help Scholz in the short term to appease some of the criticism about his style of government and his way of communicating.
What will prove much more difficult, however, is reversing the deepest doubts about Germany’s commitment, about the gas pipeline with Russia and about the country’s military posture.