Scholz hits a nerve

Germans oppose Taurus delivery according to survey

A German Taurus cruise missile(Bild: AFP)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's "no" to the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine is likely to be supported by the population. At least 58% are against it in a recent survey by the opinion research institute YouGov.

In contrast, 28 percent are in favor and 14 percent did not say. A total of 2169 Germans eligible to vote took part in the survey between March 1 and 5. At the beginning of February, support for the Taurus delivery was even higher. Now, it is mainly supporters of the Greens (48%) who are in favor, with more dissenting voters from the CDU/CSU and FDP.

A German Taurus cruise missile(Bild: AFP)

Against troops in Ukraine
German support for the Chancellor's no to ground troops in Ukraine is even clearer. 72 percent think it is right to completely rule out such a step. Only 16% believe that the German government should keep this option open. Almost no one (two percent) is in favor of sending German armed forces into the war zone immediately.

On the other hand, the population is divided on the question of the extent to which Ukraine should be supported with weapons. Less than one in three people (28%) are in favor of providing Bundeswehr missiles, for example, which have a range of 500 kilometers. Others are against Germany supplying Ukraine with weapons at all.

Scholz: "No soldiers"
 With these results, the majority of the population shares the views of Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). He rejected the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles, for example, as Germany could become involved in the war if they hit Russian territory. The deployment of German armed forces is also out of the question for him. The CDU/CSU, the Greens and the FPD are in favor of supplying the Taurus missiles. Germany is Ukraine's second largest arms supplier after the USA.