War party? Representatives of the CDU and SPD argue at “Maischberger”

Norbert Röttgen (CDU) accuses Chancellor Olaf Scholz of stoking fear of war for selfish reasons. “That is the melody of the election campaign,” he said on “Maischberger”. When Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SDP) warns that Germany could be drawn into the Ukraine war, foreign expert Norbert Röttgen (CDU) suspects a selfish motive behind it. “These are all fear discussions that the Chancellor is taking up. He wants to scare the German population for election campaign reasons,” said Röttgen on “Maischberger” on Wednesday evening. He accused his colleague on the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee, Ralf Stegner (SPD), of being involved in this supposed strategy and had a heated argument with the Social Democrat. The guests Ricarda Lang, Green Party leader Ralf Stegner (SPD), foreign expert Norbert Röttgen (CDU), foreign expert Oliver Welke, “Today Show” Markus Feldenkirchen, “Spiegel” Hannah Bethke, “Welt” “To scare your own population and “Although from the election campaign motif – that is the melody of the election campaign that we will experience in 2025,” predicted Röttgen at “Maischberger”. The calculation is: “If you want to prevent war, you have to vote for the SPD and Scholz. That is the preparation for the election campaign,” said the Bundestag member. “By choosing this topic, the Chancellor and the SPD are adopting Putin’s war rhetoric and fear rhetoric for his own election campaign purposes. By the way, that’s a line.” “Maischberger”: Scholz, the anti-warmonger? Röttgen recalled that Scholz had warned of a nuclear war in April 2022 amid the debate over infantry fighting vehicle deliveries. The Leopard 2 main battle tank was then about an alleged escalation and now there is the war party debate regarding the Taurus cruise missile system. Stegner supported this supposed strategy with the tweet that Germany might have long since become a war party with a different head of government. “This is something that crosses a line that also requires respect among Democrats to assume to others: You are leading our country to war,” said Röttgen. Stegner, however, refused to take back the statement at “Maischberger”. He once again defended the Chancellor’s no to Taurus deliveries. The fact that both the high-ranking Bundeswehr representatives intercepted by Russia and the Taurus manufacturer MBDA stated that the cruise missile could also be operated by Ukrainian soldiers apparently did not challenge him. Röttgen: Allies have questions “I would prefer a Chancellor who is cautious and doesn’t ask what the company says about it and doesn’t ask what any officers say about it during preparation,” said Stegner on the ARD talk show. “Where did he actually get his technical mind?” Röttgen wanted to know. The CDU politician affirmed: “I believe, for example, that our highest air force general is an expert.” Whereupon Stegner murmured: “Not in protected communication, apparently.” Röttgen still saw a need for clarification in the affair surrounding the officers’ phone call that was intercepted by Russia. “You actually have to ask the question: Was this a violation of the rules or is there something wrong with the security of communication in the Bundeswehr?” he said. “I believe, for example, that Huawei and other Chinese companies are involved in the expansion of the Bundeswehr communications network. So, I have some questions about whether the security of communication is really guaranteed. And, what’s worse: our allies have this question also.” Ricarda Lang calls for a new error culture Maischberger also had a question about the Chancellor. “Then why does he reveal that the British are in Ukraine – if he is so careful? That makes them a warring party,” she wanted to know from Stegner. He countered that Scholz really couldn’t please anyone. He had already made a statement and it was “analyzed down to the last comma as to what he might have meant”. “It is a real, serious mistake on his part, which of course has caused a mess in Europe that we have never seen before,” commented Röttgen on the Chancellor’s statement. Green party leader Ricarda Lang wanted to demonstrate a new culture of errors at “Maischberger”. “Of course we made mistakes,” she admitted. Precisely because her party wants to implement so many big changes, she has a great responsibility to take people along with her. “Of course, any form of know-it-all attitude or telling people very rigidly: That’s how you have to do it. I think that’s something we have to work on,” said Lang. The farmers, for example, felt patronized, said Maischberger. However, Lang showed no willingness to give in further. It should not appear as if the federal government is allowing itself to be blackmailed. Costs must also be distributed fairly for the benefit of nursing staff, educators and parents: “In the end, it shouldn’t just depend on the size of the tractor as to who is heard.” “Spiegel” author Markus Feldenkirchen saw the farmers’ protests and the many strikes as a sign that something is changing in Germany. “One has the feeling that the Republic is slowly being infected with the Weselsky virus,” he said, referring to the strike-loving head of the train drivers’ union GdL. He also showed other groups that it can be worthwhile to fight hard for your own interests. “It also does something to our democracy that goes beyond the Greens,” warned Lang in view of the protests at her party’s Political Ash Wednesday. “If violence is carried out during such demonstrations, then that is not the Greens’ problem, but a problem for our democracy.” It is worrying that CSU boss Markus Söder commented on these attacks in the sense of “It’s stupid, but somehow it’s your own fault.” The fact that Söder said in a speech that, unlike Lang and SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert, his dog had completed training left the Green Party leader cold, as she assured “Maischberger”. “No, that doesn’t hurt. You roll your eyes once and then you move on. I once had a Labrador too – Bilbo, he was called – and he was more entertaining than some failed Ash Wednesday jokes,” said Lang.