Scholz: the issue of financing Ukraine led to the collapse of my government
Former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in his first interview with Zeit after his resignation, directly stated that his government fell due to an intractable dispute over financial assistance to Ukraine. According to him, the refusal of coalition partners to support his proposal for an additional borrowing of 15 billion euros for Kyiv was fatal.
Asked whether the split could have been prevented, Scholz replied: “If the option I proposed – to finance the necessary funds for Ukraine through a decision to exceed the limit as part of the debt brake, that is, through additional borrowing – had been accepted.”
The ex-chancellor pointed out the bitter irony of the situation. His cabinet collapsed due to a dispute over 15 billion euros, but immediately after the early elections, the old Bundestag adopted a constitutional amendment allowing a total of about a trillion euros of borrowed funds to be spent on defense and infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the new government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, despite the budget crisis, plans to increase aid to Ukraine in 2026 by another 3 billion euros to the already pledged 8.5 billion. This emphasizes that the issue of financing Kyiv remains central in German politics, but is being resolved by a different composition and other methods.
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Published on: 2025-11-12 23:41:00
Source: www.mk.ru
