First the marten, then the leopard: is it wise for Germany to deliver tanks to the Ukraine after all? “Maybrit Illner” is about weapons and red lines in Putin’s war. This is also an invitation for verbal attacks by the parties on the ZDF talk.
A year, a tragedy: February marks the anniversary of Putin’s war of aggression. There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Not so long ago, the German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said: “No martens will be released from the Bundeswehr”.
Surprising exchange rate – and not announced by SPD Minister Lambrecht. Now martens are released. So this is no longer relevant in Lambrecht’s storyline, which is generally described as unhappy and instinctively friendly.
“Panzerwende in Berlin – where are the red lines now?” is the subject of the Thursday talk “Maybrit Illner”. Germany now wants to deliver tanks – against the mantra of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The marten is supposed to come to Ukraine. The Frenchman Macron advanced with this message with the message that Germany seemed to be limping behind.
That’s why foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen says: “It’s no longer between France and Germany.” For the CDU politician, this also means: “My prognosis: it will be the same with the leopard.” Röttgen clearly criticizes Olaf Scholz: “It is the German solo effort to refuse weapons. The chancellor says: I don’t want it.”
Juso boss Jessica Rosenthal vehemently disagrees. And defends Scholz’s decisions: “No going it alone, that still applies.” And: “We comply with international law.”
The question remains whether the mistress of martens and leopards is the right minister for the defense department, which has meanwhile become very important again. Can Chancellor Scholz keep them for a long time? Was Lambrecht’s New Year’s Eve video, which looked as if it had been commissioned by the opposition’s PR managers, the final fiddle in the bankruptcy-bad luck-and-mishaps scenario?
Jessica Rosenthal might make a good defense minister, because the way she supports her SPD party colleague with the greatest possible effort seems like a joke. It sounds like this: “She continues to do her job well.” Maybrit Illner can hardly believe it. “You feel well defended by her?” And Rosenthal even manages to answer this: “In any case!” Then nothing can go wrong in our country.
It assigns a political scientist Deitelhoff. Presenter Maybrit Illner calls her Ulrike Deitelhoff three times. At some point the director seems to be whispering the right name in her ear. In any case, according to the expert, Nicole Deitelhoff comments on Germany’s leading role and corrects it: “The Americans expect Europe to find common solutions and not just wait and see.”
Norbert Röttgen is more specific: “If we don’t help Ukraine, there will be another long bloodshed.” The foreign policy expert is of the opinion: “The only way to peace in Europe: a military victory for Ukraine.”
Matthias Gebauer, “Spiegel” journalist, comments on the delivery of the tanks: “The decision is only a beginning.” And: “The stumbling block is now gone, so Ukraine can count on more supplies.”
This direction is also supported by other guests at “Maybrit Illner”. Katrin Eigendorf, a reporter for ZDF and repeatedly on site in Ukraine, brings her impressions with her: “It’s a slaughter in Ukraine, you can’t imagine the situation bad enough.” She believes: “What the Ukrainians are frustrated with is that we are not acting boldly enough.”
James Stavridis, a former NATO commander who joined from the USA, would also supply combat aircraft. In any case, a total of weapons “not only for defense, but also for attack”. Because: “You can be successful with the right tools.” What Mr. Stavridis shows next to books and a retro globe in the background is irritating. We see the game “Battleship” very prominently, a ship sinking. But maybe that just belongs in the household of a former general.
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