At a May Day rally in Düsseldorf organized by the German trade union federation, the Social Democrat chancellor was met with “warrior” and “liar” voices from protesters. Also in recent days, German intellectuals have urged Scholz in an open letter not to send heavy weapons to Ukraine and instead to seek a compromise that could be accepted by both sides in the war. Such behavior is in stark contrast to the views of other critics of the chancellor, both at home and abroad, who accused him of being too cowardly in his support of Ukraine. At the rally, Scholz vigorously defended arms deliveries, saying: “I respect every pacification and every position. But it must seem cynical to Ukrainian citizens when told to defend themselves against Putin’s unarmed aggression. That’s out of time. ” The letter from the intellectuals – signed by more than 20 prominent figures in academia, culture and journalism – urged Scholz not to send heavy weapons to Ukraine, citing fears that it could lead to a third world war and “make Germany itself a party to the war. ” Signatories included author Martin Walser, journalist and feminist activist Alice Schwarzer, and Green politician Andrzej Volmer. The letter has garnered about 120,000 supporters online since its publication on Friday. In the wake of the Russian invasion, the Scholz government overturned a long-standing German policy of not sending weapons to war zones in order to supply defense weapons to Ukraine. But until a few days ago, Scholz had delayed approving the transfer of heavy weapons and had cited some of the same arguments that intellectuals used to justify his position. However, on Tuesday, his government announced that it would deliver anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine, succumbing to strong pressure from Kyiv, international allies and domestic politicians, both inside and outside the ruling coalition. Since the start of the war, Scholz has sought to dispel accusations that Berlin has been overly cautious in dealing with Russian aggression, which has manifested its reluctance to send heavy weapons and support a rapid ban on Russian energy imports. In an interview with the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, Scholz rejected such criticism and defended Berlin’s cautious position on sending heavy weapons. “I make my decisions quickly – and I coordinate them with our allies. “I am suspicious of the hasty actions and miserable German efforts,” he said. This article has been updated.
