Eurotopics: Scholz Calls Putin - Europe’s Press Reacts

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke on the phone with Vladimir Putin on Friday. He explained that he had called for Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine and emphasised that the West stands united behind Kyiv. Europe's commentators criticise the call and discusse it in connection with Scholz's candidacy in the upcoming federal elections.

An unglorious chapter

For Jutarnji list (Croatia), Scholz's call to the Kremlin was a disgraceful mistake:

“Why did Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán face a hail of criticism when he travelled to Moscow in July, but when the German chancellor calls the Kremlin that's okay? Orbán and Scholz both did something that is forbidden - they spoke to a war criminal about Ukraine without Ukraine's prior knowledge. ... Scholz is a political corpse and without doubt the worst German chancellor since reunification. His predecessors Helmut Kohl, Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel were high-calibre statespeople, just like Konrad Adenauer and Willy Brandt in the distant past. Unlike theirs, his legacy is an economically and geopolitically weakened Germany.”

This ‘chancellor of peace’ ploy won't work

The Tages-Anzeiger (Switzerland) is sceptical:

“The traditionally pacifist SPD wants to pitch Scholz as the 'peace chancellor' in the election campaign. Unfortunately, that tactic was already unsuccessful in the European election campaign. For the 'friends of peace' of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance and the AfD, any deliveries of German weapons to Ukraine already go too far. They see Scholz as a 'warmonger' because he's made Berlin Kyiv's second largest backer. From the point of view of the friends of Ukraine, on the other hand, Scholz's hesitant middle way misses the actual goal: helping Ukraine to win the war.”

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The majority of Germans approve

Scholz's phone call with Putin was aimed at scoring points with the German public, writes Ukrainian political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko in NV:

“I think the German chancellor knew perfectly well that Putin wouldn't negotiate with him to end the war in Ukraine. Scholz's sole objective was the effect this phone call would have in terms of domestic politics and the upcoming election. In the run-up to the parliamentary elections in Germany he is positioning himself as a 'peacemaker' and trying to adapt to the mood of a significant proportion of German voters. Ultimately, this is a good PR tactic for attracting media attention both in Germany and around the world.”

Time for new faces

The Salzburger Nachrichten (Austria) argues in favour of different leading candidates in both the SPD and the CDU:

“While Habeck [of The Greens] seems to be just as much the only option within his party as Lindner in the FDP, there is a Social Democrat who could promise a joyful 100-day election campaign: if the SPD were to send Boris Pistorius, who is currently by far the most popular politician, into the race. And instead of Merz, a fresh and popular face for the CDU too, such as the state premiers Hendrik Wüst or Daniel Günther. With this fresh line-up in the CDU and the SPD, the fringes would no longer seem so attractive.”

A man without merit

Europe has no use for a chancellor like this, Corriere della Sera (Italy) rails:

“Germany and, by extension, Europe, have wasted three years under the leadership of Olaf Scholz, a chancellor without merit who, after raising hopes with his famous 'turning point' speech, tried to salvage what was left of an untenable model instead of reinventing it. Devoid of charisma and incapable of providing the leadership he had promised, Scholz has made an already dysfunctional coalition ungovernable. ... In a strange game of mirrors, while Germany's voice in Europe has been weakened and is now barely audible, France is also paralysed: by a brilliant but out-of-touch and adventurous president, and now by a government without a majority.”

Reprinted from eurotopics. You can find the original here.