Olaf Scholz’s dithering on Ukraine is paying off at home
His SPD party has seen a bump in the polls.
ByOlaf Scholz
Olaf Scholz has been the chancellor of Germany since December 2021. Born in 1958, he studied law at the University of Hamburg, was Mayor of Hamburg from 2011 to 2018, and since 2018 had been vice-chancellor and finance minister in Angela Merkel’s coalition government. His Social Democratic Party won the most seats in the September 2021 federal election and governs in coalition with the Greens and the Free Democratic Party. Find all our latest news, comment and opinion on the German chancellor here.
Tanke schön: a breakthrough for Ukraine
Germany to send battle tanks to Ukraine; in the US, a frightening rise in mass shootings.
Germany is isolated once more – and no one now trusts Olaf Scholz
For Europe, the German chancellor’s first year in office has been a series of broken promises and fractured relationships.
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Germany took too long to reach the right decision on tanks
Berlin’s stalling has cost it the trust and goodwill of its allies.
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Ukraine is not a proxy war
It is Kyiv – not the West – which has set Ukraine’s war aims.
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The first signs of Ukraine war fatigue in the West are starting to appear
Yet pressure is increasing on Germany to send Kyiv tanks.
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What would it take to make Vladimir Putin feel secure?
A security guarantee could be the only way the Kremlin would be persuaded to end its war on Ukraine.
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One year in, has Germany’s traffic-light coalition “dared more progress”?
Olaf Scholz’s progressive government has been strong domestically but mixed abroad.
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