Scholz had his moment in February 2022. His Zeitenwende (turning point) speech, delivered just a few days after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, suggested that he and Germany were finally prepared to invest in hard power to defend democracy. And Scholz’s popularity skyrocketed.
But instead of actually developing this new robust approach, Scholz pared it back. He succumbed to the “salon pacifists” that remain a force inside his party. And while Germany did end up becoming Ukraine’s largest military donor, the support was often late and didn’t include the most lethal weapons system that Kyiv had begged for.
Apart from Poland and the Baltic states — all countries bordering Russia — Europe as a whole has fallen short, only recently hitting the 2 percent of GDP defense spending target that former U.S. President Barack Obama pleaded with NATO to meet back in 2014. And now, Merz and other European leaders need to contend with the 3 percent Trump is demanding.
As the new White House appears ready to stitch up a tawdry deal with the Kremlin, Germany’s attention should turn not only to defending Ukraine from Russia but to protecting Europe from the twin threats of Trump and Putin. The cavalier contempt U.S. Vice President JD Vance and others in Trump’s entourage displayed toward Western democracy — or at least Europe’s interpretation of Western democracy —affects Germany in particular.
By ostentatiously meeting with Alternative for Germany (AfD) party leader Alice Weidel (while shunning Scholz), and calling for the removal of Germany’s “firewall” against the far right, Vance, in effect, endorsed the AfD a week before election day. Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s love-in with Weidel might be dismissed as the quixotic utterances of a maverick, but this is different — and even more sinister.
It’s also leading many Germans to wonder whether the U.S. is any more its protector or its foe.
