Olaf Scholz Puts Ukraine at the Centre
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on December 9th at his party conference the extension of financial and military aid to Ukraine. This comes at a time when Ukraine is attempting to rid its land of Russian invaders, prompting Scholz to declare that decisions will be made to allow Germany to continue its support.
Scholz spoke at the party conference of his left-centrist Social Democratic Party (SPD) at a rather critical moment. The coalition government led by Scholz faces a tough challenge in finding sufficient funds to finance government spending plans for 2024. The budget crisis was triggered by a decision of the Constitutional Court in mid-November, ruling that redirecting EUR60 billion of unspent pandemic-era debt to the climate fund is unconstitutional. This left a significant gap in the planned expenses of the German government. There are also differences within the three-party coalition regarding the so-called debt brake, with the SPD and Greens wanting it lifted again, while the FDP rejects it.
One of the key themes of Scholz's speech was Ukraine, as he seems to perceive Russia's invasion of this country as the greatest threat to Europe. "The war in Ukraine is likely not to end anytime soon," Scholz surmises. Thus, he deems it important for Germany to continue to be able to "continue supporting Ukraine in its struggle for self-defense."
With regret, the German Chancellor acknowledged that Russia has abandoned all previous consensus on peace and security in Europe when it invaded Ukraine in 2022. Now, Scholz feels it is necessary to make it clear that "borders in Europe cannot be shifted by force." For this reason, according to him, Germany must be prepared to do more "when others hesitate." In this phrase, he evidently referred to the temporary political uncertainty in the US on the eve of the 2024 presidential elections in that country.
Scholz emphasized that Russian President Vladimir Putin should not expect any reduction in German aid to Ukraine. This is a significant turnaround after fluctuations in the first half of 2022. After that, Germany supplied Ukraine with a large amount of weaponry, including tanks and heavy artillery, and now its contribution to Ukraine is considered the second largest after the US.
Of course, Scholz also paid attention to domestic affairs. He noted that his party will not allow a significant reduction in social assistance, despite budgetary problems. "In such a situation, there will be no dismantling of the social state in Germany," he said, acknowledging that budget negotiations with coalition partners – the environmental Green Party and the neoliberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) – were "a very challenging task." But he does not consider this issue unsolvable.
"…we will succeed in a way that is important for the future of this country," the Chancellor told his party members. Most likely, he meant that tomorrow, on December 10th, he will continue budget negotiations for 2024 with Finance Minister Christian Lindner from the FDP and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck from the Greens.