By Bettina Grachtrup, dpa
Top figures in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) have expressed support for the stationing of long-range US weapons in Germany, an issue that has stoked controversy.
The party praesidium said in a resolution taken on Monday: “As the SPD, we take responsibility for ensuring that no child born in Germany today will experience war again. The agreement between the SPD-led federal government and the US administration to station longer-range American missiles in Germany from 2026 is an important component of this.”
At the sidelines of the NATO summit in July, the White House and the German government announced that the United States plans to station weapon systems in Germany again from 2026 that can reach far into Russia. They specifically mentioned Tomahawk cruise missiles, SM-6 missiles, and new hypersonic weapons.
No nuclear warheads
Although the weapons are capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the praesidium noted that the missiles stationed in Germany will not.
“The planned weapons will be equipped with conventional warheads and stationed in existing US military facilities in western Germany. Nuclear armament of the systems is not envisaged,” says the resolution, seen by dpa.
It added that the stationing of the weapons does not represent a boost in offensive weapons, but rather a strengthening of Germany’s defence and the alliance capability of NATO and the European Union with weapons systems that Russia has had for years.
Scholz had argued that the weapons serve as a deterrence, with the aim of preventing a war.
Surprise at decision
The decision, taken without any prior discussion in parliament, raised eyebrows in Germany.
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil, who had defended the decision a few days ago, acknowledged that the government needed to better explain the issues at hand.
The praesidium’s resolution says the party will create spaces for dialogue with members and citizens in the coming weeks and months. The Bundestag will also comprehensively address the issue after the parliamentary summer recess.
Opposition to the weapons exists
Not everyone in the SPD is happy with Scholz’s decision. Parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich warned of the risk of military escalation, while SPD lawmaker Ralf Stegner spoke out against further armament.
Sahra Wagenknecht, of the recently formed Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), a populist party, criticized the resolution. Speaking on the Deutschlandfunk broadcaster, she said the party had taken a worrying u-turn.
She expressed concern that, by hosting US weapons, Germany would become a target for Russian attack missiles.
“This is a highly dangerous development,” the former far-left politician said.
She pointed to the September state elections in the former eastern states of Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg as a “referendum on war and peace.”
If the BSW performs strongly there, she said, it would also influence debates at the federal level.
She has come out vehemently opposed to sending Ukraine weapons, lobbying for an end to the war in Ukraine via a dialogue with Russia, which many criticise as appeasement towards Russia.
Credit: DPA
