The Germans are turning on their failing leaders

The newspaper Die Welt has revealed that, in nine weeks, Germany has supplied none of the promised heavy equipment. Only light arms and defensive weapons have been delivered. Endless excuses have been offered by Berlin, from claims of secret Nato deals to attempts to blame the manufacturers. None of which has turned out to hold water. “Militarily, Ukraine is simply being left in the lurch by Berlin,” according to Andrij Melnyk, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany.

 Scholz’s Nato counterparts are now asking whether his word can be trusted at all. President Duda of Poland has been scathing about Berlin’s failure to honour its pledge to replace equipment that his country sent to Ukraine.

 Indeed, Germany’s image as the leading power in Europe, already compromised by its addiction to Russian energy, has collapsed. With the exception of Hungary, the whole of Central, Eastern and Northern Europe has joined the Anglo-American camp, demanding a tougher line towards Moscow. Berlin is no longer taken seriously among the countries most threatened by Russia – which are also among those that suffered most at the hands of the Nazis. Scholz’s serpentine manoeuvres have cast doubt on the sincerity of postwar Germany’s efforts to restore its reputation, and lessened the power of the motto “Never again”. …

Instead of turning Germany into the arsenal of democracy, Scholz has strung Volodymyr Zelensky along with empty promises. Meanwhile Berlin’s billions continue to pour into Putin’s coffers: blood money for Russian gas and oil.

 Together with Emmanuel Macron and Mario Draghi, the German Chancellor has formed a triumvirate of appeasers, continuing to negotiate with Putin and entertaining concessions in return for a ceasefire that would freeze the conflict and leave Russia occupying vast tracts of Ukraine.