"Germany is currently not seen as a driving force behind peace policy in Europe, and that pains me," said Baerbock. She did not name Scholz directly but criticized that the current election campaign "for some is more about how to quickly gain a few votes in the Bundestag elections — rather than about real guarantees for peace and freedom in Europe."
A clear attack on Scholz, who reportedly blocked another aid package of three billion euros, although besides Baerbock, his Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) supports it. Pistorius stated that he believes Germany should provide troops for a temporary peacekeeping force in eastern Ukraine, if it becomes part of a ceasefire agreement between Moscow and Kyiv.
Pistorius also responded to demands the new US President Donald Trump might make of NATO allies. Trump wants to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP, while the current target is 2 percent and many member states do not even reach that level. Germany is considering a defense budget of 3 percent of GDP, the minister said.
The FDP liberals, until recently coalition partners of Scholz and Baerbock, now want to bring the dispute before the Bundestag Budget Committee. The FDP has requested a special meeting next week. "Stop the blockade," wrote Johannes Vogel, parliamentary director of the liberals, on X.
Other German politicians have also commented on the issue of possibly deploying Bundeswehr troops in Ukraine. Roderich Kiesewetter, a parliamentarian from the opposition party Christian Democratic Union (CDU), recently said that Berlin should not rule that out.
Friedrich Merz, the CDU/CSU lead candidate for chancellor in the upcoming parliamentary elections, said last month that Germany could join a peace mission in Ukraine, but only with Russia’s consent.
According to polls, CDU/CSU is becoming the largest party. At that point, Merz’s voter support seems to be slightly wavering. Although his Christian Democrats still lead with about 30%, some polls suggest support for the center-right is declining slightly while the far-right AfD is gaining strength.