Analyst Freudenstein explains why Chancellor Scholz refuses to hand over Taurus missiles to Ukraine
Germany refuses to transfer long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, because on the eve of the elections, the German Social Democrats want to increase their popularity with a more peaceful policy towards Russia, according to the founder of the Brussels Freedom Hub, analyst Roland Freudenstein.
According to Freudenstein, after 30 years of growth, Germany entered a protracted recession. Berlin is still the "economic engine of the EU", but, according to the analyst, it is losing ground.
Political races are superimposed on this, because the country is entering a new election cycle, which will end in 2025 with elections to the Bundestag.
"The ratings of the Social Democratic Party of Germany have fallen very low, but not because of aid to Ukraine, but because of problems in the German economy and migration. The SDP has the lowest poll numbers in the 150 years of the party's existence. The Social Democrats believe that they can win more votes in the upcoming elections, positioning itself as the party of peace and Olaf Scholz as the chancellor of peace," Freudenstein said.
The analyst recalled that in June 2024, Germany will elect members to the European Parliament, and in September-October regional elections will be held in Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony. This, according to Freudenstein, demotivates the transfer of weapons to Ukraine, because the SDP wants to grow its popularity with a more peaceful policy towards Russia.
In October 2023, the German chancellor stated that the reasons for refusing to transfer Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine were "constitutional restrictions and the risk of war escalation".
Already on February 17, 2024, he answered the same question differently. He said that the "best moment" is needed for this.
On February 26, he stated that the refusal was based on "the risk of involving Germany in the war."
On March 26, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that he was receiving "displeased comments" from Berlin when Ukraine called on Germany to hand over the Taurus.
On March 28, in the context of the refusal to provide long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, Scholz said that it remains important for him not to lead to a collision between Russia and NATO.
