Former British Minister - "Wrong Man, Wrong Time, Wrong Place" - Scholz in the Crosshairs

Two and a half years of traffic light government under Olaf Scholz have left their mark economically, criticize family entrepreneurs. Kay Nietfeld/dpa

Former British Defense Minister Ben Wallace has accused German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of a lack of leadership in the context of the war in Ukraine. In addition, the Social Democrat politician is obscuring the view of the substantial support that Germany is providing for Ukraine due to poor communication, the conservative told the German Press Agency in London.

“He is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Wallace repeated a previous comment about Scholz. “He doesn’t understand deterrence, he doesn’t understand ambiguity,” he said. He added that Scholz seemed not to understand that it was helping Russian President Vladimir Putin when one appeared indecisive, vacillated on certain decisions, or gave the impression of not being in line with one’s allies. Ultimately, it also came down to communication, whether it was perceived what Germany was doing for Ukraine.

According to Wallace: Scholz “does not understand deterrence, does not understand ambiguity”

Ex-British minister Wallace, considered once  as a possible candidate to succeed NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, also demanded the delivery of German Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. Scholz had to decide whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war or not, said Wallace, referring to the Chancellor’s repeated refusal to deliver Taurus missiles.

“While he understood the concern about an escalation, this was unfounded,” said the conservative politician, who was his country’s defense minister from 2019 to 2023. Scholz was also wrong when he suggested that British and French soldiers were in Ukraine to program cruise missiles. “There is no need for British and French soldiers sitting in Ukraine and programming cruise missiles,” Wallace stressed.

Scholz strictly rejects the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. He fears that Germany could be drawn into the war by providing the missiles with a range of 310 miles.

Freezing the conflict? “Ukraine must decide that”

Wallace also warned against freezing the war in Ukraine. He referred to statements by the leader of the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) parliamentary group in the Bundestag, national parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany, Rolf Mützenich. “This one had to ask himself how freezing the conflict had turned out for the Ukrainians the last time,” said Wallace. The country had lost 18,000 soldiers between Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the invasion two years ago.

“The problem with freezing is that it must be guaranteed,” said Wallace. “But we’ve tried that, and the Ukrainians would say that Britain, America, Germany, and France did not fulfill this guarantee.” In return for a freeze, the Ukrainians could now demand NATO membership, said Wallace. “They could say: ‘Give us NATO membership. Let’s draw a line, wherever that may be, but what’s left is NATO'”.

When asked whether this could be a viable solution, Wallace did not want to commit himself. “I don’t want to speculate on what a deal might look like. Ukraine has to decide that, they are the ones who have lost thousands of people. And they are fighting for us now. We’re not fighting.” Germany, France, and not least Russia, would not agree to this, Wallace believes.

Without sufficient security guarantees, a freezing of the conflict would only lead to Russia rearming, repositioning itself, and attacking again, as had happened after the annexation of Crimea, he warned.