The first difficulty, of course, is historical. Determined not to repeat the horrors of the past, the country is extremely wary about military engagement. That caution extends to weapons, which are generally not sold to conflict zones or when they could become instruments of human rights violations. In practice, economic interests often overrule principles: Saudi Arabia and Egypt receive German weaponry. Yet with Russia, the issue is particularly fraught. Never again, goes the catechism, shall German weapons be used to kill Russian citizens.These historical arguments are not particularly useful in the 21st century. But Germany just can’t get over them: Pacifism and history are deeply ingrained in our public debate and particularly in the political culture of two of the three parties currently governing the country, the Greens and the Social Democrats.For Mr. Scholz’s Social Democratic Party, relations with Russia are an especially emotional and contested issue. The party prides itself on its change-through-rapprochement approach during the Cold War, and many members defend the notion that Germany’s role is to be a buffer between the United States and Russia rather than to clearly side with the West. It’s a narrative rooted in nostalgia and idealism, but it has a cynical side: The party’s defense for Nord Stream 2, the controversial pipeline built to deliver more Russian gas to Europe, often clads straightforward economic interests in the gown of historical dignity.For the Green Party, the second largest in Germany’s so-called Traffic Light coalition, the situation is no less sensitive. Founded out of the peace and ecological movements in 1980, it opposed the deployment of American nuclear weapons to Germany and rearmament generally. The party’s position has since evolved, but Russia’s threat to Ukraine has caught the Greens at a difficult moment. After a slightly disappointing election result in September, tensions within the party — over cabinet positions, internal reforms and political priorities — are high. It is, in short, a bad moment to take an ax to a central pillar of party identity.Then there’s the coalition itself, formed two months ago and keen to show it can provide stable rule. With domestic problems mounting — rising prices, pandemic restrictions and ambitious decarbonization plans threaten the country’s uneasy equilibrium — the government may have decided not to risk its unity over a foreign policy issue. Its caution, after all, is in step with national opinion at large: A recent survey showed that 59 percent of Germans oppose delivering weapons to Ukraine, while only 20 percent approve.
Opinion | On Ukraine, Germany Is Nowhere to Be Seen
