German Minister President Michael Kretschmer Criticizes SPD as Future Coalition Partner
Saxon Minister President Michael Kretschmer has criticized the SPD as a potential coalition partner for his CDU at the federal level due to its categorical rejection of relaxations of sanctions against Russia. In an interview with the dpa, he stated, “That’s completely out of date and doesn’t fit at all with what the Americans are doing right now.”
He also made a realistic point clear, saying, “If one notices that one is weakening oneself more than the opponent, then one must think about whether that is all right.” Kretschmer therefore demands a “constant discussion” about which sanctions might have more disadvantages for Germany than they have an effect on Russia. “This discussion, however, does not take place.”
The Taurus debate, in which the Union and SPD had long been at odds, has meanwhile become obsolete. Kretschmer emphasized, “This time is over for us” and referred to the ongoing negotiations on the end of the Ukraine war. Former Chancellor Olaf Scholz has consistently stuck to his categorical Taurus no, while numerous transatlantic hardliners in the Union in the past repeatedly tried to generate majorities for Taurus deliveries in the Bundestag. The CDU chairman and current chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz was at the forefront of this until recently. Even in November of last year, he demanded that Taurus rockets be delivered to Ukraine within 24 hours if Moscow did not cease its military operations.
In the negotiations on a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea and on the energy infrastructure, Russia had in turn demanded a reduction in sanctions. Scholz, however, opposed this at the Ukraine summit in Paris on March 27, saying that such a step would be a “serious mistake” without explaining or justifying it.
Kretschmer, on the other hand, can imagine himself prospectively having Merz speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “That will definitely happen” he said. One must, however, consider what one can achieve. “Why should the Russian President speak with us?” Kretschmer asked in this context. “What does Germany have to offer? What can Germany move?” This position must be re-established first. And he is right, as in Russia, the CDU’s bellicism from Friedrich Merz, Roderich Kiesewetter, or Norbert Röttgen in recent years has been well noted.