The West expects “leadership initiatives” from Olaf Solz

Olaf Solz succeeds Angela Merkel as German chancellor almost two months ago, but the West is still waiting for him to put his stamp on Europe’s largest economy, according to Bloomberg.

Solz is under increasing pressure to take a stand against Russia over its military development near Ukraine, as well as facing difficulties inside the country, such as an uncontrollable coronavirus surge and criticism of its spending plans.

“Opportunity” is the visit to the USA

He will have the opportunity to respond to criticism when he embarks on his first trip to Washington as chancellor. His meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House on Monday marks the beginning of a period of more intense international activity.

The magnitude of Soltz’s pressure became clear on Wednesday when the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper wrote an article entitled “Where is Soltz?” who expressed doubts about his involvement in tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied any plans to invade Ukraine.

On the night of the post, Soltz gave an interview to the national radio and television network ZDF. Urgent to respond to comments by former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder – a Social Democrat like Solz, who will be appointed to Gazprom’s Supervisory Board – who accused Ukraine of “launching threats”, the moderate Scholz said: “There is only one “.

But what Soltz did not do was present a clear plan for how to deal with the crisis. Instead, he reiterated his usual points of discussion, namely that all options for retaliatory sanctions against Russia are on the table, but sending weapons to help Ukraine defend itself has been ruled out.

Although following Merkel’s 16-year career would never be easy, Soltz did not give much indication of how he would “seize” the moment.

Last week, he did not take part in his party’s debate on the SPD’s policy towards Russia and has made few moves to gain a greater presence on the international stage – in contrast to the active diplomacy of French President Emanuel Macron.

There is no clear agenda

Scholz’s talkative start has hit his party’s popularity. His support has fallen to 23% of German voters, falling below the Conservative-led Christian Democrats for the first time since the September election.

The former finance minister achieved a landslide victory by promising to combine Merkel’s steady approach to government with reforms to modernize the German economy. It has since formed a governing alliance of the center-left SPD, the Greens and the Free Democrats, with few signs of tension despite various ideological differences.

Since then, however, the coalition has not presented a clear agenda. In the fight against coronavirus, arguably the crucial issue of the decade, the government warned of a shortage of vaccines and then tightened restrictions on the unvaccinated. Cases due to the Omicron strain remain extremely high.

In another setback, Germany’s public spending watchdog has called on the government to drop plans to transfer 60 billion euros from last year’s budget to a fund to fund future climate projects, calling them incompatible with constitutional rules.

The initial excitement surrounding the Soltz government is “clearly dissipating,” said Manfred Gellner, head of the Forsa polling institute.

The crisis in Ukraine is a critical test for Soltz. It touches on many aspects that complicate its position. Inside the country, his party, which traditionally favors working with Russia, disagrees over how aggressive it should provoke the Kremlin.

While the historical guilt of World War II also plays a role in Germany’s stance, energy security is a more immediate concern.

As Germany closes its nuclear power plants and phases out coal, it becomes increasingly dependent on Russian gas for heating homes and power plants for industrial giants such as BASF and Volkswagen. The effects of a military conflict in Ukraine could jeopardize these supplies.

Soltz’s meeting with Biden will probably prove crucial. The leaders were nominated by Merkel at the G20 summit in October, and the White House is pushing Germany to play a more active role on the geopolitical scene.

Although Soltz is unlikely to completely reorient Germany’s foreign policy approach, he could take a stronger or at least clearer stance. If not, the risk is to fill the void left by opponents.

In a recent debate in the Bundestag, Friedrich Mertz, Merkel’s former opponent who was elected the new CDU leader in January, said Germany was now considered “soft and unreliable”, a situation he blamed on Soltz.