Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s no to the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine is supported by a large majority of people in Germany.
In a current survey by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the dpa, only 28 percent support the provision of Bundeswehr missiles with a range of 500 kilometers for the Ukrainian defense against Russia. 58 percent are against the delivery of this weapon system. More than half of them (31 percent) fundamentally reject supporting Ukraine with German weapons. 14 percent provide no information.
The survey of 2,169 Germans eligible to vote was carried out from Friday to Tuesday (March 1st to 5th), i.e. after the Chancellor’s clear rejection of the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles on Monday last week. Behind Scholz’s no is the fear that Germany could be drawn into the war if the cruise missiles hit Russian territory. That’s why the Chancellor doesn’t want to leave target detection to the Ukrainians alone. However, using German soldiers to program the target data in Ukraine or Germany is out of the question for him.
Rejection of Taurus delivery grows
With this, Scholz hits a nerve in the population. According to YouGov surveys, rejection of a Taurus delivery has actually increased in recent weeks. At the beginning of February (survey from February 2nd to 6th), 31 percent were in favor of the same question and only 49 percent were against it.
However, the mood among people in Germany contradicts the prevailing opinion in the Bundestag. In addition to the opposition Union, the coalition factions of the Greens and the FDP are there for the delivery of the Taurus rockets. The largest government faction, the SPD, is fighting against it together with Scholz. “I am the Chancellor, and that’s why this applies,” said Scholz on Monday this week.
Of the voters, only Green Party supporters are overwhelmingly in favor of releasing the weapons system for the Ukrainian armed forces, at 48 percent to 36 percent. The number of opponents, however, predominates among voters for the Union (38 percent for, 49 percent against) and the FDP (34 percent for, 53 percent against).
72 percent against sending ground troops
Germans’ support for the Chancellor’s rejection of sending ground troops to Ukraine is even clearer. 72 percent believe it is right to rule out such a step once and for all, as Scholz did. Only 16 percent think the federal government should keep the option open. Two percent of those surveyed are in favor of sending German soldiers into the war zone immediately.
Last week, Scholz ruled out sending German soldiers in the future. “To be clear: As German Chancellor, I will not send soldiers from our Bundeswehr to Ukraine,” he said in a video message. “That’s true. Our soldiers can rely on that. And you can rely on that.” Scholz was reacting to French President Emmanuel Macron, who had recently not ruled out sending soldiers.
The Germans are divided on the extent of arms deliveries
Germans are divided on the question of how much arms support Ukraine should provide. 43 percent say too many weapons have been delivered to Ukraine since the Russian invasion two years ago. 43 percent also say that the scope of arms aid is just right (22 percent) or does not go far enough (21 percent).
Germany is Ukraine’s second largest arms supplier after the USA. Since the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, armaments worth 28 billion euros have been delivered or promised from Germany to the war zone.
