After an unexpected phone call to Vladimir Putin and a refusal to authorize the bombing of Russia with Taurus rockets, is German Chancellor Olaf Scholz changing his anti-Russian positions for electoral purposes?
The always discreet German chancellor, faced with early elections which he should lose, made a notable and unexpected reappearance on the international diplomatic scene last Friday, November 15. At 4:09 p.m., he posted a photo which showed him looking serious and concentrated at his office, surrounded by his advisors and in full conversation with Vladimir Putin, this after two years of radio silence.
Those around the chancellor were quick to point out that nothing was done behind the backs of the allied countries: “This was to send a signal of determined support to Ukraine, which will make it more difficult for Donald Trump to end that support abruptly after taking office”justified SPD foreign policy spokesperson Nils Schmid.
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“Pandora’s Box”
Despite everything, the phone call goes badly on the side of Ukraine and its allies. This call “opens Pandora’s box”alerted Volodymyr Zelensky in a video posted on social networks, explaining that this conversation opens the way for others and goes in the direction of Putin for whom “it is extremely important to weaken Russia’s isolation”.
Last Sunday, November 17, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also expressed his annoyance in a post on X: “No one will stop Putin with phone calls. Last night's attack, one of the largest in this war, proved that telephone diplomacy cannot replace genuine support for Ukraine from across the West. ».
Scholz's solo diplomatic action is also widely criticized domestically. The Environmentalists regret a discussion from a position of weakness. As for the conservatives (CDU). they accuse Scholz of having offered a “ propaganda success » to Putin. The head of CDU foreign policy, Jürgen Hardt, also believes that Scholz conducted this interview for domestic political reasons, in order to present himself as a “chancellor of peace”.
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The reproach is all the more confirmed since a few days ago, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Scholz also explained that he would remain intractable despite the authorization given by Joe Biden to Ukraine to use longer-range American weapons: “I have very clearly explained why I do not think the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles is a good thing”he declared, considering that such authorization could be interpreted as a declaration of war by Russia.
Chancellor of Peace or electoral opportunism? The chancellor's activism also comes a week after the breakup of his coalition and the announcement of early elections, on February 23, 2025. And according to a survey by YouGov and the German press agency DPA, 59% of respondents approved the appeal to Putin.
“By calling Putin, Scholz goes beyond the hyper-cautious attitude he has already demonstrated throughout the conflict, also because he knows that there is strong discontent at the grassroots. Many pacifists in the party have never really digested that there was no internal debate on the issue.says a Berlin SPD activist who prefers to remain anonymous.
Finally, the results of the 2024 electoral year have their weight in Scholz's choices. The far-right AfD and the new populist party “left-wing conservative” of Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) have indeed achieved record scores by demanding a rapid end to the war, whatever the territorial consequences for Ukraine.
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In this respect, it is interesting to see that the regional elections of September 22 in the Land of Brandenburg resulted in an alliance without alternative between the SPD and the BSW with a preamble common to the two parties and which partly explains the inflections of 'Olaf Scholz. “We take seriously the concerns of citizens about the extension of the war and therefore the risk that Germany too will be drawn into a war spiral which turns faster and faster. The war cannot be stopped by new arms deliveries”write the regional leaders of the SPD and BSW.
They wish to commit to ensuring that a “diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian conflict” is found – with the aim of a ceasefire and lasting peace ». “In this context, we also view with a critical eye the planned deployment of medium-range missiles and hypersonic missiles on German soil,” concludes the text which in no way corresponds to the official positions of the SPD at national level.
