Former Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück has strongly attacked the federal government. In the ZDF talk program "Markus Lanz" he denounced the party disagreement inside the traffic light coalition on Thursday evening. However, he respects the level-headed leadership of Chancellor Scholz.
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| [Peer Steinbrück] |
The SPD's former finance minister, Peer Steinbrück, has attacked the traffic light alliance for its party disagreements. "A government needs to behave politically, even if it comprises of three parties," the former SPD lawmaker remarked on the ZDF chat program "Markus Lanz" on Thursday evening. At the same time, he criticizes today's politicians of a lack of desire to deal with confrontation. "Today's politics must apply the slogan 'promote and demand,'" says Steinbrück, who served as Finance Minister under Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2005 to 2009.
At a joint news conference on October 5, 2008, Merkel and Steinbrück guaranteed German residents that their savings balances would be secure despite the financial crisis at the moment. "We reassure savers that their money are secure," Merkel said unequivocally. At the height of the financial crisis, the Munich real estate bank Hypo Real Estate faced bankruptcy and was nationalized. Financial gurus encouraged German consumers to withdraw their savings and stock up on food in interviews at the time. Many ATMs were empty and no longer issued cash. There were no party disagreements in the grand coalition while it was tackling the crisis at the time, says Steinbrück.
However, Steinbrück believes that Chancellor Scholz's phrase "turning point" is incorrect. "I'd rather call it a "time out," he adds of Markus Lanz. In Moscow, President Putin is a war criminal who has invaded a previously recognized nation and is likely also responsible for genocide there, who is blackmailing the West with energy weapons and is now threatening the West with nuclear weapons. Putin is pushing the West to choose between authoritarianism and democracy.
Although Germany is not at war, the government has to clarify what the break in times implies more clearly. "We have to recognize that we have to wake up from a long-cultivated comfort and ease and realize that we citizens must also do our share to guarantee that we are not vulnerable to blackmail," says Steinbrück. Every citizen must consider their own particular contribution.
The federal government must adapt Agenda 2010's notion of "promote and demand" to the current day. The state exists to assist those who are in desperate need of assistance. "However, he may also confront civic society," Steinbrück warns. The problem of distributive justice must be elevated to the top of the political agenda.
Steinbrück is worried about the progress of the Ukraine conflict. He is concerned that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not accept defeat. If Putin feels he is being pushed too far, he may decide to deploy nuclear weapons. "I am thankful to everyone in Europe who deals with this problem so that we do not end up in a position where the guy (Putin) goes even further into the tree than he already does because he no longer sees any hope of returning to reality," Steinbrück said.