Polish historian accuses German party of having 'mafia-like' ties to Russia: report

A Polish historian has accused Germany’s main coalition party SPD of having long-standing "mafia-like" ties to Russia and only pretending to be helping Ukraine amid Moscow's invasion, according to the wirtualnemedia.pl website.

Olaf Scholz.

PAP/DPA/Lisi Niesner

Bogdan Musiał, a history professor, made the claim in an interview with Polish state news agency PAP, wirtualnemedia.pl reported. 

Scholz 'blocking' weapons supplies to Ukraine

The website quoted Musiał as saying that “the SPD’s coalition partners, the Greens and the liberal FDP party, are in favour of supplying Ukraine with heavy weaponry as it battles Vladmir Putin’s invasion."

However, “the SPD’s Chancellor Scholz, who takes final decisions, is blocking such moves,” Musiał added, as cited by wirtualnemedia.pl.

⚡️ Bild: German chancellor blocked supplies of heavy weapons to Ukraine.

In March, Ukraine requested Leopard tanks, as well as Puma, Marder, Boxer, and Fuchs armored vehicles.

However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz blocked the deliveries of heavy weapons, Bild reports.

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 21, 2022

‘Energy alliance with Putin’

Musiał said in the interview that "this stance flows from the fact" that senior SPD figures have maintained “an energy alliance with Putin” over the years, wirtualnemedia.pl reported.

“They had worked closely with Russian energy companies such as Gazprom and lobbied in favour of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and similar projects,” Musiał added, according to wirtualnemedia.pl.

These ties, “dating back to the chancellorship of Gerhard Schröder … are deeper than we thought … and sometimes resemble mafia-like structures,” the Polish historian said, as cited by wirtualnemedia.pl.

'Wider policy of rapprochement' with Russia

Musiał argued that the SPD’s approach was part of “a wider policy of rapprochement with the Soviet Union and then Russia, initiated by SPD Chancellor Willy Brandt in the early 1970s and shared by the subsequent conservative CDU governments,” wirtualnemedia.pl reported.

However, following the departure of Angela Merkel, “the CDU under Friedrich Merz is quickly changing tack, adopting an increasingly pro-Atlantic stance,” Musiał observed, as quoted by wirtualnemedia.pl.

What will the SPD do?

So far, “Chancellor Scholz has pledged EUR 1 billion in military aid to Ukraine … but it’s not clear who is to spend this money and how,” Musiał said, according to wirtualnemedia.pl.

“Commentators say it’s a pretend move designed to please the public,” he added, as quoted by wirtualnemedia.pl.

NATO must avoid a direct military confrontation with Russia that could lead to a third world war, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview with Der Spiegel, when asked about Germany's failure to deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine https://t.co/3nZmFv8ncz

— Reuters (@Reuters) April 22, 2022

Whether the SPD commits to a tougher response to Russia’s aggression “will depend on several factors,” according to Musiał, wirtualnemedia.pl reported.

These factors include “pressure from the increasingly pro-Ukrainian German public, the actions of coalition partners and foreign governments, and developments in Ukraine itself,” Musiał asserted, as cited by wirtualnemedia.pl.

Prof. Bogdan Musiał. Photo: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz

Friday is day 58 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

(pm/gs)

Source: wirtualnemedia.pl, PAP