German parties divided over Ukraine aid

For Germany's Green Party, the landscape is clear: A further aid package for Ukraine could be passed before the parliamentary election on February 23 – even though a budget for 2025 has not yet been approved. The package would include €3 billion ($3.1 billion) worth of weapons, primarily for Ukraine's air defense.

In fact, delivering weapons is not what is being disputed in Germany's current minority government, a coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens, but rather its financing and timing.

Following the breakup of the "traffic light" coalition last year, the German parliament was unable to pass a federal budget for 2025. "The 2025 budget is not there, so the question of where the money should come from is justified," said Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who is also the Green Party's chancellor candidate.

Greens: Permanent financing is important

Habeck believes there is still a chance to make the funds available. The Bundestag's budget committee could make a decision to take on more debt. The aid package for Ukraine could then be passed before the election. "It has been proven often enough that Putin exploits weakness. That is why permanent financing is necessary," Habeck emphasized. 

The Greens say that Scholz is blocking the new aid package. The chancellor, however, does not want to be accused of not providing Ukraine with sufficient support. "As everyone knows, Germany is Ukraine's biggest supporter and will remain so — so that the country can defend its independence and sovereignty," he said this week at the NATO summit of the Nordic countries in Helsinki.  

Scholz: Germany must not get dragged into the war

There may be some electioneering going on here. Scholz is also currently fighting for votes as the SPD's leading candidate for the upcoming election, and the SPD's members and party supporters are growing war-weary. The willingness to continue spending billions on arms deliveries is waning, given Germany's economic problems and tight budget.

That is why Scholz is currently portraying himself as a "peace chancellor." At a recent SPD conference in Berlin, he emphasized the need for "real negotiations that finally put an end to the death and destruction in Ukraine." He said Germans could rely on him to remain "sober-minded." He promised he would ensure that "we are not dragged into this war," despite his support for Ukraine and repeatedly emphasized that that support would not come at the expense of German citizens.

Social benefits vs weapons deliveries

There is, however, a lack of funds in the public coffers for further arms deliveries. At a campaign event in Bielefeld on Monday, Scholz emphasized, "I'm against us taking this from pensions, I'm against us doing this through cuts to local authorities, I'm against us investing less money in railroads and roads."

One of the next government's first tasks will be to create a budget for the current year and Scholz insists that any calls for new weapons funding must "also say where the money will come from."

Green politicians like Bundestag member Anton Hofreiter believe that any government policy that ties a €3 billion Ukrainian aid package to social spending cuts in Germany would be a cop-out.

Pistorius visits Ukraine

Further aid for Ukraine would not only serve the Greens' interests, but also those of Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who is intent on showing Germany's support for Ukraine. The SPD politician traveled to Kyiv on Tuesday for an unannounced visit, where he stressed that Germany would continue to stand by Ukraine.

With only one week to go until Donald Trump is inaugurated as US president, Pistorius' visit was also designed to send yet another signal of support. Kyiv fears that Trump might drastically reduce US aid, which may mean that European countries are forced to increase their support fast.

The German opposition, which includes the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Socialist Union (CSU) and now also the Free Democratic Party (FDP), is not against a new military aid package per se — it's against taking on any additional debt. The parties are therefore proposing parallel spending cuts, for instance, to Germany's unemployment benefits.

The SPD rejects such a proposal. With this impasse, it appears highly unlikely that a new aid package for Ukraine will be passed before the impending Bundestag elections.

This article was translated from German.

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