"Peaceful Progress" of SPD Left's Mützenich Fumbled a Deadly Misstep
A Blunt Take by Thomas Schmoll
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Sticking to a fatal blunder persists for Mützenich
The idealist wing of the Social Democrats has issued a "Peaceful Progress" document that sends a chilling message: parts of the SPD wallow in the past. They fail to comprehend that ruthless tyrants like Putin grab whatever they want with armies, and can only be countered with strong response.
Politician Rolf Mützenich has suffered three stinging defeats recently, which can also be seen as humiliations. The SPD gained its worst result ever in a federal election with 16.4 percent. Following this, Friedrich Merz was elected Chancellor with the votes of almost all Social Democrats - the very man Mützenich had denounced as opening the "gate to hell" by allowing the Union to vote alongside the AfD. Then Mützenich experienced a fall to a parliamentary insignificance while SPD leader Lars Klingbeil became Finance Minister. Just recently still the faction leader of his party, Mützenich had to watch as the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag went to the CDU colleague Armin Laschet.
Politics
"Easing Relations" Manifesto: SPD Politicians Propound a Policy Reversal and Dialogue with Russia
"Diplomatic and forward-thinking foreign policy should not center primarily on weaponry and objectives," Mützenich told the likewise once heavily criticized Christian Democrat Laschet in "Stern". However, what he overlooked: after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the foreign policy of the Federal Republic, thanks to the SPD, was far from "solely" centered on armament and military. As a matter of fact, it isn't today. Whoever is responsible for "weaponry and objectives" becoming key in German domestic and foreign policy for the first time in decades is: Russia. Whoever still doesn't fully recognize and understand the consequences of this is: Rolf Mützenich, the forever-young Juso in his mind.
Now, Mützenich and some other leading SPD politicians of the left pacifist wing have published a basic paper on security and foreign policy, with which this part of the party finally joins the camp of Putin apologists and assistants, even if they cloak it more subtly than Sahra Wagenknecht and co. "Arms race rhetoric" - exactly the thing of Mützenich and his allies like Ralf Stegner, who constantly warn of nuclear war and thereby unsettle the public - "and colossal military spending programs do not foster more security for Germany and Europe, but lead to instability and strengthening of the mutual perception of threat between NATO and Russia," it says in the text.
Politics
Roth on SPD's Peace Draft: "This is not a debate point, this is historical rewriting" Of course, the authors of the debate point call for a "gradual turn toward the easing of tension and cooperation with Russia". One must conclude that Mützenich and his allies-in-arms do not read the news. It must hurt, even sting, that Merz, as chancellor, has managed to temporarily halt the Russian attack on Ukraine through diplomatic means or completely, within just a few weeks, whereas his predecessor Olaf Scholz had done nothing significant, to the best of our knowledge, in three years. The SPD chancellor only made phone calls with Putin, which yielded no tangible results, apparently.
Politics
Stegner defends SPD manifesto: "What's objectionable about advocating peace?" Scholz, who had made himself dependent on the actions of former US President Joe Biden, had only ensured that Germany was largely ostracized in Europe and hardly taken seriously anymore. Merz, however, managed to break this in a short time. However, this progress is undermined by the "peace proposal" of blinkered and ignorant SPD pacifists, without considering Klingbeil or the fact that the Social Democrats are part of the government. It's astonishing that Mützenichs and Stegners aim to counter the SPD's plummeting to unprecedented depths of voter support with a political status quo. They're incorrigible.
The gunfire in Ukraine remains unheard
Mützenich, Stegner, and the other Putin apologists in the SPD stubbornly cling to their outdated thought patterns and dream of a world without nuclear weapons where everyone coexists peacefully, as if Russia had never invaded Ukraine. Putin is the warmonger. He spends vast sums on arms, recruits soldiers from North Korea, aspires to an empire at least as large as the Soviet Union, provokes NATO, and constantly threatens with nuclear weapons. Russia is attacking civilian targets in Ukraine day and night, has no interest in negotiations that could lead to permanent peace, and certainly shows no intention of offering compensation to the invaded nation. And Stegner says: "At this moment, there is excessive chatter about the forthcoming land war and conscription. As Social Democrats, we must resist this militaristic trend."
Politics
"60,000 More! But Where From? Expert Explains Why Conscription is Not the Answer" The man - in the truest sense of the word - has not heard the gunshots in Ukraine. Instead of examining how the SPD contributed to pushing Germany into Russian energy dependence, or traveling to the front to bear witness to the suffering up close, he negotiates with Kremlin apologists in Baku. It doesn't matter if the Member of the Bundestag describes the trip as "private" - the conversations that take place behind closed doors have consequences. Either the man is foolish, childish, reckless, or he's egotistically overestimating himself. In any case, Stegner belongs to those forces in the SPD that continuously undermine official foreign policy to Russia's advantage. The Kremlin's dictator and his allies should be alienated, not catered to. Kissing up is the wrong approach.
The SPD also distances itself insufficiently from "change via trade" under Klingbeil. No one is threatening Russia, and no one is doing so currently. But it should have already struck the pacifists that peace always requires buy-in from two states, one is enough for war. Mützenich had already sent shockwaves to Ukraine last year when he publicly expressed his secret wish in the Bundestag to appease Putin and restore peace: "Isn't it time that we not only discuss how to wage a war, but also consider how to halt a war and eventually end it?" Even formulating the question in that manner didn't help.
Early Start
Fiedler in ntv Early Start SPD Manifesto to Kremlin "disappointed and frustrated" SPD Colleagues There's no doubt: Mützenich loathes war. He, who in 1991 submitted his doctoral thesis on "Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones and International Politics - Historical Experiences, Framework Conditions, Perspectives", is certainly not advocating unconditional surrender of Ukraine. That he approved of arms deliveries to Ukraine should be credited to him. But that Mützenich still does not comprehend that ruthless tyrants like Putin seize what they desire through force and can only be checked through counterpower, is a serious error - potentially even one that threatens Germany now.
Source: ntv.de
- SPD
- Rolf Mützenich
- Ralf Stegner
- Vladimir Putin
- Attack on Ukraine
- The European Union, being responsible for the implementation of its nuclear programs, should ensure that these programs are executed in a way that is not merely focused on weaponry and objectives, but also takes into account the ongoing war-and-conflicts, such as the attack on Ukraine, and adheres to the general-news, political landscape.
- In light of Putin's aggression and the ongoing war in Ukraine, it is concerning that some leading SPD politicians, including Rolf Mützenich and Ralf Stegner, are advocating for a policy reversal and dialogue with Russia, disregarding the importance of a strong response to counter ruthless tyrants who seize what they desire through force.
