In front of the Plenary of the German Parliament, Chancellor Scholz made statements ahead of the European Council on June 27 and 28 and the NATO Summit on July 9 to 11. Times have now changed and the political speeches about war and peace in the German Parliament of the “Zeitenwende” are not surprising. ». On the occasion of the Summit in Brussels on June 27 and 28, where, among other things, “Ukraine’s path to joining the EU” will be discussed according to the agenda, as well as the crucial NATO Summit in Washington on July 9 to 11, the chancellor Olaf Solz informed the parliamentarians in the Bundestag Plenary.

“Putin continues to invest exclusively in war and armaments, and no one can ignore this (…) Unfortunately, Russia does not want peace. On the other hand, Ukraine wants a just peace without submission and without fear of a new aggression”. With these words, Olaf Solz, in his government statements, effectively ruled out any possibility of peace talks with Russia at the moment, which was also seen recently at the Peace Conference in Ukraine, which was held in Switzerland without Russian representation.

The road will be “long and difficult” for the Ukrainian, the chancellor said, with no illusions and high expectations for the results of the upcoming Sessions. He emphasized, however, that the message to Russian President Putin is clear, as is the West’s support for Ukraine, as was recently seen at the G7 Summit in Puglia, Italy, with the $50 billion in new loans to Ukraine. At the same time, at the Summit in Brussels tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, the issue of the use of Russia’s frozen assets to support Kiev is expected to be raised.

Solz on European elections: Confidence has been shaken

However, Olaf Solz openly turned against the Alternative for Germany and Sarah Wagenknecht’s party, who boycotted Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech at the beginning of June in the German parliament. We are not going to enter into “competition with populists and extremists”, he stressed, calling on all MPs to support the open nature of German society.

“We have to ensure that citizens can trust Germany and Europe again,” he said against the background of the European elections and the collapse of the Social Democrats. “Our ongoing experiences with crisis management have shaken confidence, no one can dispute that,” he said in an attempt to analyze the outcome of the European elections.

Indeed, in an attempt to dispel the clouds that have long been hanging over the co-government with the Greens and the Liberals, he also wanted to assure the Plenary that there will be an agreement on the German budget of 2025 in the coming weeks. “Our priorities are clear,” he said, adding, however, that “there should be no cuts in areas related to social justice, care and pensions.”

Mertz with the air of a first party leader

Soltz’s presence at the Plenary was of course not completed quietly, nor did it look like “business as usual”. After all, this is the climate in almost all government interventions in the last two and a half years.

“The chancellor is unable but also unwilling to self-criticize and correct his political choices,” said Friedrich Merz, head of the Christian Democrats, who emerged as the first party in the European elections. Germany is experiencing a period of uncertainty and ambiguity, he said, speaking of a “government coalition out of necessity”.