German Chancellor Olaf Scholz believes that it is wrong for his country to supply Ukraine with weapons that can be used to strike deep into Russia.
„I think it is wrong to supply Ukraine with weapons that are capable of acting with great destructive force deep into Russia. "I think this is exactly the step that cannot be taken if you are responsible for Germany," Scholz said during the election debate with Friedrich Merz, the candidate for the post of German Chancellor from the Christian Democratic and Christian Social Union bloc.
Earlier, Scholz rejected the possibility of transferring Taurus cruise missiles, which have a range of about 500 km, to Kiev. The head of the German government said that the delivery of such weapons systems would lead to a serious risk of escalation.
Kiev has long wanted Taurus missiles from Berlin. They are considered an analogue of the British Storm Shadow, which have already been delivered to Ukraine. The range of the German-Swedish missiles, however, is greater.
The pre-election debate between the German Chancellor and candidate of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) for this post, Olaf Scholz, and the candidate of the Christian Democratic and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) bloc, Friedrich Merz, has ended without a clear winner being determined. This is shown by the results of a survey conducted for the television channel ZDF.
According to its data, 37% of respondents believe that Scholz performed better, 34% point to Merz. 29% of respondents note that the competitors showed the same level. 43% of women consider Scholz to be the winner of the debates, while only 29% of them point to Merz. However, in the opinion of men, Merz (40%) is ahead of Scholz (30%).
People aged 18 to 34 prefer Scholz (47%). Merz managed to convince only 25% of this age group. According to people aged 35 to 59, the CDU leader (36%) and the German Chancellor (35%) performed almost equally. The same applies to those over 60.
When asked who deserves more trust, Scholz came out on top (42%). Merz is 11 percentage points behind (31%). In terms of professionalism, the candidates are on the same level (36% each). 32% of viewers already have a better impression of Scholz than before the debate, 11% emphasize that it has worsened, and 57% have not changed their attitude towards him. 22% have an improved opinion of Merz, 16% have a worse opinion, and 62% have not changed their attitude because of the television appearance. 1,374 people participated in the survey.
The pre-election debate between Scholz and Merz lasted 90 minutes. They discussed the problems of migration, economic and social policy in Germany, as well as the conflict in Ukraine. At times, the discussion was accompanied by heated arguments.
The early parliamentary elections in Germany are scheduled for February 23. The CDU/CSU's rating is currently between 29-31%, the SPD's rating is 15-17%, the "Alternative for Germany" party - 19-22%, "The Greens" - 11-14%.