In his historic "Zeitenwende" speech, Scholz announced 100 billion euros in special funds for the Bundeswehr. A speech praised by the opposition. But a year later, "virtually nothing is planned," complains Jens Spahn. The turning point has "not yet begun".
One year after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's "Zeitenwende" speech, the Union accused the federal government of not keeping its promises to modernize the Bundeswehr. "The chancellor is breaking his promises," said parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn of the "Neue Westfälische" newspaper, which appears in Bielefeld. So far, "virtually nothing" has been planned for the special fund of 100 billion euros announced at the time for the Bundeswehr.
"Even urgently needed ammunition was not ordered," complained Spahn. He emphasized that the Chancellor's speech after the Russian invasion of Ukraine was fundamentally "right". "I thought that day: Wow, that can shape this chancellorship." However, the federal government "was no longer able to maintain the flight altitude the following day".
The CDU foreign politician Roderich Kiesewetter also complained that the right words in Scholz's speech "were not translated into a political program". Kiesewetter told the "Augsburger Allgemeine" that the federal government had fallen far short of the expectations raised by Scholz in terms of both supporting Ukraine and equipping the Bundeswehr. The Bundeswehr has "enormous deficits," he complained. The turning point has “not even started with her yet”.
On February 27, 2022 - three days after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine - Scholz spoke of a "turning point" in a speech in the Bundestag. At the time, he announced the special fund of 100 billion euros to make the Bundeswehr, which had been saved over the years, fit again for national and alliance defense.
