Solz in the midst of the crisis

Sober, pragmatic and silent is the new Chancellor Olaf Soltz. This has always been the case in his political career. But many believe he has been silent in recent weeks. In Germany, the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) is losing ground in opinion polls, and has been accused of disappearing or refusing to speak out. Germany’s persistent refusal to supply arms to Ukraine has also drawn criticism. The same thing happened with Angela Merkel, Solz’s predecessor in the chancellery. Many wonder why the Germans are specifically avoiding Ukraine, while at the same time exporting weapons to Egypt, Israel or the Kurds.

The German government’s long-running effort to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was built to transport gas from Russia to northern Germany via the Baltic Sea bypassing Ukraine, also made an unpleasant impression. Last December, Olaf Solz said it was a “plan based on private financial criteria”, while licensing procedures “have nothing to do with politics”.

An annoyed chancellor

In recent months, the question of “whether Germany remains a credible partner” has been raised in the United States from time to time in the Ukraine crisis. “This is nonsense,” Soltz told CNN in Washington on Monday, shortly after his private meeting at the White House with US President Joe Biden. The chancellor seemed too abrupt for his data. He is obviously upset, because his public image sometimes looks different from what he and his advisers would like.

The chancellors’ office assures that, for weeks now, every possible effort has been made for a diplomatic settlement in the Ukraine crisis. At the same time, however, “coordination” with the transatlantic allies continues, in order to deal with a possible escalation of the crisis. “We are preparing intensively to impose the necessary sanctions in the event of aggressive military action,” Solz said in Washington.

Is not Soltz politics visible yet? Is there a communication problem? “The federal government is unfortunate that the start of its term coincides with an escalation of the crisis, which has now become more widespread,” said Wolfgang Isinger, head of the Munich International Security Conference. A few days ago, Isinger criticized the policy of the new German government on the issue of Ukraine. Today, however, he expresses understanding. “We have to take into account that as chancellor Olaf Solz did not have the opportunity to build a personal relationship with Vladimir Putin or Joe Biden,” said Isinger. “He can not just pick up the phone and say ‘Vladimir, we have to talk’, as (French President) Emanuel Macron can do …”

Diplomatic fermentation week

The French president’s consultations with his Russian counterpart lasted five hours in Moscow on Monday, after which Macron left for Kiev, followed by a meeting with his Polish counterpart Andrei Duda and German Chancellor Olaf Solz on Tuesday. The “Weimar Triangle” is the name given to the three countries’ first round of consultations in 1991, following the end of the Cold War. In the following days, the prime ministers of Denmark and the three Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia), who identify with Poland on the Ukraine issue, met in Berlin, followed by Olaf Solz himself, who will visit Kiev and Moscow. “We are in the worst situation since 1989,” Polish President Duda said after the last meeting of the Weimar Triangle.

Following the so-called “unprecedented” concentration of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, Eastern Europeans want a tougher stance on Moscow. “We need determination and solidarity,” said Andrei Duda. “We are not allowed to take a step back, I think we have all the necessary tools.” An effective means of pressure, according to Eastern Europeans, would be the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which has been built but has not yet been put into operation.

“Understanding” for Russia in the SPD

In Berlin, the restraint of the ruling Social Democrats towards Russia is due to many factors. Much of the SPD shows understanding of what is happening in Moscow. After all, the left wing of the party includes members of the peace movement who continue the tradition of the old “Ostpolitik” of the SPD and the rapprochement with the Kremlin. Social Democrats from the eastern states of present-day Federal Germany also take into account commercial interests, which probably date back to the time of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). In the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Social Democrat Prime Minister Manuela Svessing is doing all she can to ensure that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is fully operational, following in the footsteps of former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who is now considered a personal friend of Brendin.

Shortly after his defeat in the 2005 election, Schroeder took a job at a Russian-owned company and now holds a management position at Nord Stream 2. In addition, he is a member of state-owned energy company Rosneft and has recently been nominated for its supervisory board. also Russian Gazprom. Roderick Kiesewetter, coordinator of the Christian Democratic Opposition (CDU) in the Federal Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said Schroeder’s candidacy was a “regular maneuver by Russia to break up the German government into Germany”.

New Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Soltz is doing his best to leave behind Gerhard Schroeder. “Schroeder is not talking about the government, he is not working for the government, he is not the government. I am the chancellor, from me you will hear the political strategy of Germany …”

Sabine Kincharts

Edited by: Giannis Papadimitriou

Source: Deutsche Welle