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On May 04 2022 11:06 {CC}StealthBlue wrote: So Scholz and his party are in power, right? So only the opposition parties are the force between getting Ukraine armaments etc. and Scholz stopping them?
German opposition leader Friedrich Merz had an hour-long meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Tuesday, amid a background of growing tension between the governments in Berlin and Kyiv.
The talk went “exceptionally well”, Merz’s spokesman later wrote on Twitter.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made clear that he won’t travel to the Ukraine capital after German President Frank Walter Steinmeier’s trip was canceled at the last minute by Ukraine officials two weeks ago. Zelenskiy has been critical of Steinmeier, who used to be a close ally of former SPD Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, for his friendly relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the past.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andrej Melnyk, has criticized Scholz’s decision not to travel to Kyiv. He’s repeatedly called on Germany to send more heavy weapons to Ukraine and to stop all energy imports from Russia. Last week, Scholz decided in a surprise move to send 50 Gepard tanks. He also plans to offer the Ukraine army seven heavy artillery systems.
Merz arrived on a night train in Kyiv Tuesday morning. Despite security warnings from German authorities, he traveled without any personal protection. His spokesman said he’ll inform Scholz about the details of his discussions with Zelenskiy.
It is a bit more complicated. Scholz is the leader of a coalition government between his party (SPD), the Greens and a neoliberal party called FDP. They generally need to all agree for something to happen. The opposition does not really have a big influence on what is happening.
On May 04 2022 06:03 Broetchenholer wrote: Sure, I can understand that people experiencing terrible injustice are not always logical and are emotional. Nevertheless, we don't allow those people more due to that. I am not staying out of jail if I was rightfully angry and then committed a crime. And the people on this forum, who are just bystanders, really have no excuse.
Are they bystanders?
There are plenty of people here who aren't bystanders. There are the Ukrainians who are actively fighting. And the Russians who are fighting on the other side and facing attacks on Russian soil in return.
But a lot of the posters come from countries that are sending lethal and heavy weapons and sanctioning Russia. Make no mistake, we are helping kill Russians. Some of these people are going to be civilians. Collateral damage is a fact of war. (I'm not advocating for war crimes, but they will happen and will need to be prosecuted later.) Some of the "legitimate targets" have civilians working at them such as the oil depots in Bryansk. Sanctions also hit all Russians. As much as I enjoy the posts of some of the Russians in this thread, for intellectual honesty, I need to take responsibility for supporting sanctions that might make their families suffer economically. Or, worse, for having supported sending heavy weapons that kill some of their friends or family.
I'm OK doing that without calling them orcs or whatnot. But I understand that some people, especially those closer to the weapons and sanctions, might need to distance themselves from the humanity of their opponents. So that they can do what's necessary. Saying that you support sanctions and sending heavy weapons while lambasting people who call Russian soldiers orcs is cruel and unempathetic. And this goes double for the people who suffer from the cruelty of the Russian troops, especially all the civilians. And this is not only Ukrainians. Many people from the region, including me, have friends fighting in this war, dying, and being crippled. You never know just by looking at a person's tag on TL how close or far these events are for them.
On May 04 2022 11:06 {CC}StealthBlue wrote: So Scholz and his party are in power, right? So only the opposition parties are the force between getting Ukraine armaments etc. and Scholz stopping them?
German opposition leader Friedrich Merz had an hour-long meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Tuesday, amid a background of growing tension between the governments in Berlin and Kyiv.
The talk went “exceptionally well”, Merz’s spokesman later wrote on Twitter.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made clear that he won’t travel to the Ukraine capital after German President Frank Walter Steinmeier’s trip was canceled at the last minute by Ukraine officials two weeks ago. Zelenskiy has been critical of Steinmeier, who used to be a close ally of former SPD Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, for his friendly relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the past.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andrej Melnyk, has criticized Scholz’s decision not to travel to Kyiv. He’s repeatedly called on Germany to send more heavy weapons to Ukraine and to stop all energy imports from Russia. Last week, Scholz decided in a surprise move to send 50 Gepard tanks. He also plans to offer the Ukraine army seven heavy artillery systems.
Merz arrived on a night train in Kyiv Tuesday morning. Despite security warnings from German authorities, he traveled without any personal protection. His spokesman said he’ll inform Scholz about the details of his discussions with Zelenskiy.
All help to Ukraine has been decided by the government, which Scholz' party is part of, yes. The opposition has had no hand in this.
I continue to be baffled by Zelensky's Germany policy. Just, what, 2 weeks ago he said anyone who helps Ukraine is welcome in Kyiv, but he won't afford pretty photo ops to politicians just for show. Yet here he does exactly that for Merz. This is a PR stunt ahead of German state elections, nothing more.
Merz has zero influence on foreign policy decision. The next federal election, where in theory we could see Merz succeed, is 4 years from now. This is nothing but providing publicity for an aging politician who has achieved nothing in his long career and will likely exit German politics in the next few years. And Ukraine does not get a Euro or round more out of it.
On May 04 2022 15:24 Ghanburighan wrote: Isn't it Scholz who's refusing to go to UA now? I thought Zelensky said he's welcome. Just Steinmeier wasn't.
Yes Scholz is, and we have talked about this at length. A Scholz visit after the snubbing of the president is not going to happen. I should point out that Merz was fully supportive in this. As I have said, the president in Germany is understood as representing the nation of Germany, and to stand above party politics.
If the Merz photo stunt was meant to have any influence on Germany's position on Ukraine, then this was yet another misread on German politics. I am beginning to think that Zelensky actually listens to his rather outrageous ambassador to Germany, Melnyk, who seems to have made it his mission to turn the German public and politics away from Ukraine.
Fortunately for everyone involved, the German government is ignoring insults from Melnyk and irritating publicity stunts from Merz, and is further committed to helping Ukraine.
On May 04 2022 15:24 Ghanburighan wrote: Isn't it Scholz who's refusing to go to UA now? I thought Zelensky said he's welcome. Just Steinmeier wasn't.
Yes Scholz is, and we have talked about this at length. A Scholz visit after the snubbing of the president is not going to happen. I should point out that Merz was fully supportive in this. As I have said, the president in Germany is understood as representing the nation of Germany, and to stand above party politics.
If the Merz photo stunt was meant to have any influence on Germany's position on Ukraine, then this was yet another misread on German politics. I am beginning to think that Zelensky actually listens to his rather outrageous ambassador to Germany, Melnyk, who seems to have made it his mission to turn the German public and politics away from Ukraine.
Fortunately for everyone involved, the German government is ignoring insults from Melnyk and irritating publicity stunts from Merz, and is further committed to helping Ukraine.
So, all that UA actually did was welcome an opposition politician? I mean, Estonian opposition politicians were in Kyiv more than a month ago... Ratas, who was trying to topple the Estonian govt. in March to become Prime Minister was speaking at the Rada a month into the conflict.
I think this is more of Scholz being bad at politics. If he'd just go to Kyiv, (and finally deliver the heavy weapons he promised) he could start to mend these relations. From the outside, he just looks petulant. And like someone who doesn't have his priorities straight. People are dying and he's worried about a past snub. (Which was obviously a snub of his horrible and now reversed policies more than a snub of Steinmeier personally.)
Merz did what most politicians in the West are doing. Going to Kyiv, showing support, and receiving a photo-op. Be more like Merz.
von der Leyen announced a full phasing out of Russian oil (crude (6 months) and refined (end of year)) . They'll ban RUs largest bank, Sberbank, from Swift (this has implications on energy purchases as well) and all others. RU broadcasters banned from EU. And she announced a recovery package for UA. More below:
Better don't be more like Merz, who has defended NS2 as late as January 29 this year.
I didn't bring Merz up, I was just replying to Stealthblue's question on Merz having any influence on German foreign relations. He has not. The guy is a complete joke, he barely has control over his own party, the leadership of which he only got after 2 failed attempts and only because everyone else on the conservative side is even better at failure than him.
The German government, public, and Scholz personally are meanwhile further committed to Ukraine. I'd like to share this little bit from this week of Scholz defending weapon deliveries to Ukraine against protesters. One of the rare moments I actually had to give him respect for, and I wish we would see more of this guy.
Photo ops are a great way of ending a war. Merz does not get any bonus points in Germany for going and Scholz does not lose any for not going. What counts is the actual politics and they do not change just because you got to hold hand with zelensky or got uninvited from doing that or refusing to hold hands.
And regarding your argument for being allowed to be mildly racist, calling all useful idiots for Putin cockroaches, as you did, because you may know someone who decided on their own to join a war, still sounds racist. If you want to have your opinion or argument to be recognized, I would simply refrain from using racist sounding soundbites. If you are not racist, it helps your argument tremendously.
On May 04 2022 15:24 Ghanburighan wrote: Isn't it Scholz who's refusing to go to UA now? I thought Zelensky said he's welcome. Just Steinmeier wasn't.
Yes Scholz is, and we have talked about this at length. A Scholz visit after the snubbing of the president is not going to happen. I should point out that Merz was fully supportive in this. As I have said, the president in Germany is understood as representing the nation of Germany, and to stand above party politics.
If the Merz photo stunt was meant to have any influence on Germany's position on Ukraine, then this was yet another misread on German politics. I am beginning to think that Zelensky actually listens to his rather outrageous ambassador to Germany, Melnyk, who seems to have made it his mission to turn the German public and politics away from Ukraine.
Fortunately for everyone involved, the German government is ignoring insults from Melnyk and irritating publicity stunts from Merz, and is further committed to helping Ukraine.
So, all that UA actually did was welcome an opposition politician? I mean, Estonian opposition politicians were in Kyiv more than a month ago... Ratas, who was trying to topple the Estonian govt. in March to become Prime Minister was speaking at the Rada a month into the conflict.
I think this is more of Scholz being bad at politics. If he'd just go to Kyiv, (and finally deliver the heavy weapons he promised) he could start to mend these relations. From the outside, he just looks petulant. And like someone who doesn't have his priorities straight. People are dying and he's worried about a past snub. (Which was obviously a snub of his horrible and now reversed policies more than a snub of Steinmeier personally.)
Merz did what most politicians in the West are doing. Going to Kyiv, showing support, and receiving a photo-op. Be more like Merz.
Merz is a spineless douchebag. Don't be like Merz This PR stunt will not change anything. Kyiv has been pushing Germany away and is still doing so. True, it took too long until Germany got the ball rolling but we are getting there.
I'm not sure on Scholz. Sometimes he seems indecisive or slow and sluggish. On the other hand, he only talks when he has something to say and doesn't do empty politician talks like pretty much everyone else, which is a good thing
On May 04 2022 16:33 Broetchenholer wrote: Photo ops are a great way of ending a war. Merz does not get any bonus points in Germany for going and Scholz does not lose any for not going. What counts is the actual politics and they do not change just because you got to hold hand with zelensky or got uninvited from doing that or refusing to hold hands.
And regarding your argument for being allowed to be mildly racist, calling all useful idiots for Putin cockroaches, as you did, because you may know someone who decided on their own to join a war, still sounds racist. If you want to have your opinion or argument to be recognized, I would simply refrain from using racist sounding soundbites. If you are not racist, it helps your argument tremendously.
The only reason why you're calling me racist is that I accused Germans of being racist towards Eastern Europeans. Now you want to get back at me because you cannot handle the fact that your country has racists living in it. Especially among the older population.
I didn't call anyone a cockroach. Never have. I explained how the term is used. But I reserve the right for myself and others to use derogatory language when the occasion calls for it. Like, for example, using the term racist.
No, i am calling you racist, because your posts frequently sound racist. It doesn't matter if you "explained" how the term is used or stated that this is how you use the term. If you give zero explanation as to why the term is right or wrong, and just state that "useful idiots like Marine LePen are cockroaches", that is your statement. If you follow it up with
On May 04 2022 16:33 Broetchenholer wrote: Photo ops are a great way of ending a war. Merz does not get any bonus points in Germany for going and Scholz does not lose any for not going. What counts is the actual politics and they do not change just because you got to hold hand with zelensky or got uninvited from doing that or refusing to hold hands.
And regarding your argument for being allowed to be mildly racist, calling all useful idiots for Putin cockroaches, as you did, because you may know someone who decided on their own to join a war, still sounds racist. If you want to have your opinion or argument to be recognized, I would simply refrain from using racist sounding soundbites. If you are not racist, it helps your argument tremendously.
But I reserve the right for myself and others to use derogatory language when the occasion calls for it. Like, for example, using the term racist.
Then again this means, you see no problem with doing that. You also posted a tweet from some person making all russians responsible for air strikes, you told stories of your grandmother calling russian soldiers beasts, but this is completely irrelevant. You just said you reserve derogatory, in this case racist, language to use. So quit arguing. Call people beasts, orcs, cockroaches, it's your right. Just don't be offended when you are then called racist for it.
And i am sure that there are a lot of people in germany that are racist towards eastern european people. What does this have to do with anything?
On May 04 2022 17:47 Broetchenholer wrote: No, i am calling you racist, because your posts frequently sound racist. It doesn't matter if you "explained" how the term is used or stated that this is how you use the term. If you give zero explanation as to why the term is right or wrong, and just state that "useful idiots like Marine LePen are cockroaches", that is your statement. If you follow it up with
On May 04 2022 16:33 Broetchenholer wrote: Photo ops are a great way of ending a war. Merz does not get any bonus points in Germany for going and Scholz does not lose any for not going. What counts is the actual politics and they do not change just because you got to hold hand with zelensky or got uninvited from doing that or refusing to hold hands.
And regarding your argument for being allowed to be mildly racist, calling all useful idiots for Putin cockroaches, as you did, because you may know someone who decided on their own to join a war, still sounds racist. If you want to have your opinion or argument to be recognized, I would simply refrain from using racist sounding soundbites. If you are not racist, it helps your argument tremendously.
But I reserve the right for myself and others to use derogatory language when the occasion calls for it. Like, for example, using the term racist.
Then again this means, you see no problem with doing that. You also posted a tweet from some person making all russians responsible for air strikes, you told stories of your grandmother calling russian soldiers beasts, but this is completely irrelevant. You just said you reserve derogatory, in this case racist, language to use. So quit arguing. Call people beasts, orcs, cockroaches, it's your right. Just don't be offended when you are then called racist for it.
And i am sure that there are a lot of people in germany that are racist towards eastern european people. What does this have to do with anything?
You just lie to call me names. TL has a search function. You can search all my posts with the tag "grandmother". Surprise, surprise, the only such post is from 2016 and there I say that my grandmother was a secretary. Full stop. Stop lying and twisting my words. I'm not saying any of the things you accuse me of.
On May 04 2022 18:03 Harris1st wrote: I would urge you both to stop derailing this thread for some personal vendetta and go back to the topic at hand please
Happy to.
Here's another Rainer Saks update, summing up why we've been seeing a great deal of missile fire in UA.
RU troops tried to activate and regain the initiative. This explains the missile strikes across central and western Ukraine. Mostly targeting rail and electricity infrastructure. Besides grabbing the initiative, this is aimed at slowing down bringing Western equipment to the front. We'll see the effect in a few days. It will bother UA, but will not cut their logistics. As RU is using anti-ship missiles on Odessa for the second day in a row, stores of other missiles must be at a minimum.
Near Harkiv, UA took back another town on the eastern side. In this theatre, the initiative has been firmly with UA throughout the battle for Donbas, even if progress is slow. The movements in the past few days is bothering artillery attacking the city. More importantly, those troops threaten to attack the rear of the RU troops in Izyum. That cannot occur quickly, but even today, UA complicates supplying those troops. But full isolation of those troops is not going to happen any time soon.
RU troops tried to maneuver near Izyum, but nothing remarkable. UA attacked a few congregation spots.
The most active RU units are to the north of Severodonets, where they have achieved local successes, but the situation isn't dangerous for Ukrainians yet.
In Mariupol, RU stormed Azovstal but seemingly unsuccessfully. We'll see whether RU permits more evacuations today.
On the southern front, troops were effectively standing still. Artillery duels continue.
RU is still trying to escalate in Transnistria. There's talk of evacuating the families of RU soldiers there. But, as this can only be done in cooperation with UA or Moldova, this is probably just an information operation.
The Azovstal evacuation has been a partial success, but as it's not done yet, it's too soon to make conclusions. It's in RU interest to delay this.
It has been quieter than expected on the front for about 4 days now. I still think RU will run out of offensive capabilities by the end of the week. Even during passive days, they've been losing about 2 BTG worth of equipment a day. Manpower losses have been smaller.
Original: 04. mai kokkuvõte eelneva päeva kohta - vene üksused üritasid aktiviseeruda ja initsiatiivi kampaanias tagasi saada. Sellest oli kantud ka raketilöökide seeria üle kogu kesk ja lääne Ukraina. Peamiselt rünnati raudtee taristut ja elektrijaamu. Lisaks intisatiivi haaramisele sooviti ilmsesti takistada lääne relvastuse juurdevedu. Rünnakute mõju ilmneb lähipäevade jooksul. Kindlasti see häirib ukrainlasi, kuid ei katkesta nende logistikat. Kuna Odessa piirkonnas kasutatakse juba teist korda maapealsete sihtmärkide ründamiseks laevade vastaseid rannakaitse rakette, näitab see muude rakettide varude kahanemist miinimumini. -Harkivi juures vabastasid Ukraina üksused veel ühe asula linnast ida pool. Siin on kogu venelaste Donbassi pealetungi vältel olnud initsiatiiv Ukraina käes, kuigi edenetakse aeglaselt. Viimaste päevade edasi liikumine häirib Harkivini ulatuva vene suurtükiväe tööd. Veelgi olulisem on, et Ukraina väed ähvardavad edasi tungida vene üksuste Izjumi grupeeringu tagalasse. See ei saaks juhtuda kiiresti, kuid juba praegu suudavad ukraina üksused oluliselt häirida Izjumis paiknevate vene üksuste varustamist. Täielikult Izjumi gruppi isoleerida ukrainlased niipea veel ei suudaks. - Izjumi juures üritasid vene üksused natuke manööverdada, aga ei midagi märkimisväärset. Ukrainlased suutsid rünnata mõnda vene üksuste koondumisala. - Donbassi rindel on vene üksused kõige aktiivsemad Severodonetsi linnast põhja suunal. Siin on nad saavutanud ka lokaalset edu, kuid olukord veel ohtlik ukrainlaste jaoks ei ole. - Mariupolis üritasid venelased hõivata Azovstali tehast - tundub, et eduta. Näis, kas täna lubatakse evakueerumistel jätkuda. - Lõunarindel vene üksused sisuliselt seisid. Peeti suurtükiduelli. - Transnistrijas üritatab vene pool jätkuvalt hoida üleval eskalatsiooni momenti. Väide sõjaväelaste perekondade evakueerimisest võiks ju olla ka tõsi. Ainult, et seda saaks teha koostöös Moldova või Ukrainaga. Nii, et pigem on tegu lihtsalt surve avaldamise ehk infooperatsiooniga. Azovstali evakuatsioon on osaliselt õnnestunud, aga kuna operatsioon ei ole veel lõppenud, ei hakka järeldustega kiirustama. Igatahes on vene poolel kasulik selle tegevusega venitada. Rindel on olnud viimased neli-viis päeva palju vaiksem, kui võiks eeldada. Esialgu jään veel arvamuse juurde, nädala lõpuks on vene üksuste suurem pealetungi võime ammendumas. Neil on viimastel päevadel, vaatamata passivsusele, olnud ikkagi väga suured kaotused, ca 2 PTG jagu tehnikat päevas. Elavjõu osas võib olla pisut väiksemad.
Regarding the Merz thing, its entirely a publicity stunt and perceived as such here. The consensus is that it has no positive impact on the situation in ukraine. It is too late to be of symbolical value, since he is basically just one in a long line of people with far more power that already went to ukraine. Merz is under criticism even by people from his own party like Thomas de Maizière.
Scholz is refusing to go to ukraine because of the little fiasco where they first said they do not want to receive Steinmeier, which was then walked back when it blew in their face. I guess I have to admit to everyone who was opposing me on this, that it indeed was a bad idea to uninvite Steinmeier.
On May 04 2022 15:57 Ghanburighan wrote: I think this is more of Scholz being bad at politics. If he'd just go to Kyiv, (and finally deliver the heavy weapons he promised) he could start to mend these relations. From the outside, he just looks petulant. And like someone who doesn't have his priorities straight. People are dying and he's worried about a past snub. (Which was obviously a snub of his horrible and now reversed policies more than a snub of Steinmeier personally.)
Merz did what most politicians in the West are doing. Going to Kyiv, showing support, and receiving a photo-op. Be more like Merz.
Just because you want something to happen, does not make it a smart move. You could spin this back and forth, argue that ukraine should just apologize for the Steinmeier thing, instead of pretending that it did not happen, since people are dying, so this is no time for false pride.
If ukraine is allowed to make PR stunts like uninvite Steinmeier, while they are invaded and their people are dying, so is germany by saying you can either receive Steinmeier or get lost. I really gotta start agreeing with the people here, who said that ukraine seems to do a great job at hurting public opinion in germany...
Not because I am german, or because I am bothered by it (earlier in this thread I did even call for more of it, which I now admitted was a mistake), but because it is clearly hurting their cause. So from that angle, ukraine is the one that is being bad at politics, and the truth is probably as always somewhere in between.
But ultimately it is stupid to play this up as a big problem, unless ofc you are more concerned with calling someone out that actually helping. Apart from solidarity, Scholz showing up in kiev does not matter much imo, its not like that is needed for talks. Its just a photo op, which is why you get opportunists like Merz showing up way too late. Steinmeier showing up in kiev on the other hand would actually matter, because it would release tensions.
EDIT: Supposedly the invitation to Merz was from before the war started and he supposedly planned this travel since before the war started. Hard to say if that is just him trying to get away from the criticism he faces for his travel, if true it does take a lot of weight out of 'ukraine invited Merz'.
On May 04 2022 18:25 Artesimo wrote: Regarding the Merz thing, its entirely a publicity stunt and perceived as such here. The consensus is that it has no positive impact on the situation in ukraine. It is too late to be of symbolical value, since he is basically just one in a long line of people with far more power that already went to ukraine. Merz is under criticism even by people from his own party like Thomas de Maizière.
Scholz is refusing to go to ukraine because of the little fiasco where they first said they do not want to receive Steinmeier, which was then walked back when it blew in their face. I guess I have to admit to everyone who was opposing me on this, that it indeed was a bad idea to uninvite Steinmeier.
On May 04 2022 15:57 Ghanburighan wrote: I think this is more of Scholz being bad at politics. If he'd just go to Kyiv, (and finally deliver the heavy weapons he promised) he could start to mend these relations. From the outside, he just looks petulant. And like someone who doesn't have his priorities straight. People are dying and he's worried about a past snub. (Which was obviously a snub of his horrible and now reversed policies more than a snub of Steinmeier personally.)
Merz did what most politicians in the West are doing. Going to Kyiv, showing support, and receiving a photo-op. Be more like Merz.
Just because you want something to happen, does not make it a smart move. You could spin this back and forth, argue that ukraine should just apologize for the Steinmeier thing, instead of pretending that it did not happen, since people are dying, so this is no time for false pride.
If ukraine is allowed to make PR stunts like uninvite Steinmeier, while they are invaded and their people are dying, so is germany by saying you can either receive Steinmeier or get lost. I really gotta start agreeing with the people here, who said that ukraine seems to do a great job at hurting public opinion in germany...
Not because I am german, or because I am bothered by it (earlier in this thread I did even call for more of it, which I now admitted was a mistake), but because it is clearly hurting their cause. So from that angle, ukraine is the one that is being bad at politics, and the truth is probably as always somewhere in between.
But ultimately it is stupid to play this up as a big problem, unless ofc you are more concerned with calling someone out that actually helping. Apart from solidarity, Scholz showing up in kiev does not matter much imo, its not like that is needed for talks. Its just a photo op, which is why you get opportunists like Merz showing up way too late. Steinmeier showing up in kiev on the other hand would actually matter, because it would release tensions.
EDIT: Supposedly the invitation to Merz was from before the war started and he supposedly planned this travel since before the war started. Hard to say if that is just him trying to get away from the criticism he faces for his travel, if true it does take a lot of weight out of 'ukraine invited Merz'.
That's interesting background, thanks.
I think one thing people forget is the Ukrainian perspective. These foreigner visits are appreciated because a) they genuinely show support for people who have been living in hell for months now. It's appreciated at a human level, b) they come with promises of goodies for them. At least our opposition and parliamentary visitors seemed to promise specific support for UA-related bills. We had several pass with more than just govt. votes after their visits. I think the UA wants Merz to put more pressure from the opposition so that DE speeds up its deliveries of promised aid. Here's an example of this:
I'm curious to see if Merz changes his tune in parliament in some way in the following days.
On May 04 2022 16:24 zatic wrote: I didn't bring Merz up, I was just replying to Stealthblue's question on Merz having any influence on German foreign relations. He has not. The guy is a complete joke, he barely has control over his own party, the leadership of which he only got after 2 failed attempts and only because everyone else on the conservative side is even better at failure than him.
True, but you have to keep in mind that he did not have the opportunity to fail like that yet. He might be as good at failing as the other clowns.
Also, of course the one doing the snubbing while in need of help is not the one bad at politics it is the clearly the snubbed party /s
On May 04 2022 18:25 Artesimo wrote: EDIT: Supposedly the invitation to Merz was from before the war started and he supposedly planned this travel since before the war started. Hard to say if that is just him trying to get away from the criticism he faces for his travel, if true it does take a lot of weight out of 'ukraine invited Merz'.
And thats the most nonsensical spin I have heard around this story. And there were quite a few candidates for this title. The BKA (Federal crime agency) 'strongly advised him not to go' (original quote), because the preparation time they were given was too short and they could not guarantee his security. So surely this was long planned.
On May 04 2022 18:25 Artesimo wrote: EDIT: Supposedly the invitation to Merz was from before the war started and he supposedly planned this travel since before the war started. Hard to say if that is just him trying to get away from the criticism he faces for his travel, if true it does take a lot of weight out of 'ukraine invited Merz'.
And thats the most nonsensical spin I have heard around this story. And there were quite a few candidates for this title. The BKA (Federal crime agency) 'strongly advised him not to go' (original quote), because the preparation time they were given was too short and they could not guarantee his security. So surely this was long planned.
To be fair, the Russians have been preparing for this war for year and look what happened. ;-)
EPT
![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/FrdoNCu.png)
