AEveryone thought the heavy weapons thing was settled, by this week at the latest. The federal government pushed through to deliver Gepard tanks to Ukraine, and in the Bundestag, MPs from the traffic light and Union factions voted together to support them to the best of their ability.
But this impression is deceptive. The position of the federal government is still ambiguous. The Polish government proposed a deal to her weeks ago. It supplies Ukraine with a large quantity of PT-91 main battle tanks. This is a modernized Soviet-made T-72, so one that Ukrainians can immediately go into battle with without worrying about training, spare parts or ammunition. In return, according to FAS information, Poland wants German Leopard 2 tanks.
So it was not about Germany supplying arms directly to Ukraine, but about an exchange of rings. This is less sensitive for Germany in terms of foreign policy. Especially compared to the direct delivery of tanks. One might think that such an offer would no longer make anyone in the traffic light coalition sweat. It has been decided that weapons will be supplied.
But in Poland, for a long time, nothing was heard from the federal government. She still hasn’t made a decision. Chancellor Scholz and Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki met in Berlin on Tuesday to discuss arms deliveries to Ukraine. Morawiecki then said only that he expected to be compensated by NATO countries and “receive weapons from Germany”. There was no breakthrough.
Of course, there can be good reasons for the federal government to refuse a ring exchange. For example, because Germany barely has enough Leopard 2 tanks, certainly not to replace a large number of Polish tanks. But that would be important, Poland is on the border with Belarus. That’s where NATO soldiers would fight should Russia attack, and where they fight, every tank counts. If there are fewer, it would weaken the alliance’s eastern flank. But Poland has already given tanks to Ukraine, so the eastern flank is already weakened. It’s about Germany supporting a NATO partner.
Sharp criticism of German hesitancy
So why doesn’t the federal government make a decision? The fact that she has been silent for so long does not only irritate the Poles. But also, for example, the member of the Bundestag Anton Hofreiter from the Greens. He has been driving the traffic light to do more for weeks. Hofreiter told the FAS that he expected things to finally get moving.
After all, the Bundestag voted by a large majority to support Ukraine with heavy weapons. This must now also be “quickly implemented”. “It must not be repeated that such inquiries remain unanswered for weeks like the one in Poland now”. Rather, the Chancellery should give you a positive answer within the scope of “our possibilities”.
Defense politician Roderich Kiesewetter from the CDU sees it similarly. Parliament has now “unmistakably” expressed the political will to deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine, he told the FAS. The federal government has enough tailwind to finally answer the offer made by “Poland weeks ago”.
What particularly bothers Kiesewetter is the lack of urgency. The Russian offensive in the Donbass has gained momentum, every day counts. For him, this does not mean that the federal government has to participate in every ring exchange. Of course you can cancel. But please say something.
History shows how difficult it is for the traffic light to follow up on the promised change of era with action. This applies in particular to the Social Democrats. There is already a gap between what people in the parliamentary group say and members of the government. While the NATO partners met in Ramstein, Secretary General Kevin Kühnert said on television: “At this point in time, a delivery of German tanks would be a solo effort.”
Shortly thereafter, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht announced that Germany was handing over Cheetah tanks to Ukraine. It is interesting how people from the SPD explain that. They point out that an anti-aircraft tank is a defensive weapon. It shoots up in the air and fends off planes, unlike a main battle tank. In other words, Kühnert and Lambrecht do not actually contradict each other at all. Everything fine, everything coordinated.
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