A senior member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, has sharply criticized the Ukrainian policy of former German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. In an interview with the online magazine T-Online, she described Steinmeier as a “total failure.”
Strack-Zimmermann argued that the President should have informed the public about the security situation, rather than enjoying the Christmas festivities, as Steinmeier did. She also criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz for ignoring reality, saying that his downplaying of the threat was a “catastrophe.”
Strack-Zimmermann emphasized the need for Europe to take action to defend itself against the Russian threat. She referred to the announcement of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine by former US President Donald Trump as a “wake-up call” urging the strengthening of common defense capabilities in Europe.
In her view, the time for words is over and it is now necessary to take concrete measures to counter the Russian threat.