Germany/ Vote for war and peace? Lands before the elections

2024-08-16 09:27:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Germany/ Vote for war and peace? Lands before the elections

Illustrative photo

Many East Germans are skeptical of aid to Ukraine and want to negotiate with Russia. This theme dominates the electoral campaign for the state parliament elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg.

Foreign policy has long been considered a topic that is negotiated in Berlin, that is, only in the German capital. It is the seat of the federal government and also responsible for policy on security and foreign affairs of the country as well as for war or peace. Therefore, debates about foreign policy have always been held only in electoral campaigns for parliamentary elections at the federal level. But currently, in the electoral campaign for the elections in three countries in the east of the country, the topic of the war in Ukraine and the possibilities to negotiate with Russia, that is, with Putin, for a cease-fire to end the war, is dominating the race and electoral rallies. .

The reason is that in Thuringia, in Saxony and later also in Brandenburg in a few weeks elections will be held for the regional parliaments. In these countries, the issue of Germany's attitude towards the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the supply of German weapons to Kiev are in focus and even one of the most important topics at the moment. Also the issue, whether the German army (Bundeswehr) should be equipped with new weapons from the USA and whether the weapons systems from the USA should be deployed in Germany. The population in the eastern countries is skeptical about all these topics. Thus, the politicians of the countries are turning into foreign policy experts.

A vote for war and peace?

Even more decisive is the position of Sahra Wagenknecht, the founder of the party that bears her name "Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht" (BSW). This new party of the former "Left" politician was founded at the beginning of the year and now leads in Thuringia a little more than two weeks before the elections with about 20 percent of the votes. So after the elections her word can be Wagenknecht has emphasized on several occasions recently that BSW will participate in the formation of the government only if the coalition rejects the deployment of US weapons in Germany starting in 2026. .Although this issue is not decided in the capital of Thuringia, but in Berlin. The weapons are to be deployed in Germany from 2026. In the interview with the German national radio "Deutschlandfunk" he even underlined that: "The elections in the east are also a vote for war and peace." In other words: Who supports Ukraine, the attacked country, is for war. Its voters, says Wagenknecht, expect it to engage, so that the risk does not increase war in Germany.

Kretschmer: China and India must influence Putin

Even the prime ministers of Saxony and Brandenburg, Michael Kretschmer (CDU) and Dietmar Woidke (SPD) stand out with their statements on foreign policy. Kretschmer, in the background of debates on the federal budget, has asked for cuts in aid to Ukraine and diplomatic initiatives to resolve the Ukrainian conflict. In a conversation with the RND editorial network, he said: "I call for the strengthening of diplomatic efforts. We need alliances, for example with China and India, that can influence Putin, so that he is ready to truce." Woidke expressed himself similarly.

Polls clearly show skepticism towards support for Ukraine

The reason for the unexpected positions of regional politicians on foreign policy has to do with the strong skepticism of the population mainly in the countries to the east of Germany regarding the course towards Ukraine followed by the coalition government of the SPD, the Environmentalists and the FDP. Since the beginning of the war in March 2022, Germany has supported Ukraine with about 23 billion euros, with weapons, with direct cash aid, with humanitarian aid. Thus, Germany is after the USA, the biggest supporter of the attacked Ukraine. The demoscopy institute Forsa finds in the countries of origin that: 34 percent of respondents think that Germany is doing too much to support Ukraine. 32 percent are for the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine, such as tanks.

AfD and BSW, against the government's course towards Ukraine

While at the federal level the conservative opposition CDU and CSU generally support the government's course towards Ukraine, recently two mainly eastern parties categorically reject arms supplies to Ukraine and demand negotiations with Russia: the right-wing populist party "Alternative for Germany" and the "Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance".

While the parties of the governing coalition as well as the opposition CDU/CSU, sticking to the course for further support of Ukraine as well as for the deployment of US weapons from 2026 are increasingly losing support in the electorate regarding this topic. / DW