Germany’s political turmoil is badly timed for Ukraine

It is time for the rest of Europe to step up and do its bit

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s decision to fire finance minister Christian Lindner on Wednesday night has collapsed Germany’s coalition government, clearing the way for early elections in March, and casting a shadow over the European Political Community summit in Budapest. 
Scholz’s government appears to have been the victim of its own green policies, with Mr Lindner calling for a rethink of the phasing out of nuclear energy, and criticising Germany’s obsessive commitment to net zero. The result has been to plunge Berlin into political uncertainty at an extremely inopportune time.
In the words of one Ukrainian general, the country’s defences are “crumbling” in the face of Russian advances. Germany has become Europe’s largest provider of military aid to Kyiv, just ahead of Britain, but is set to cut spending in 2025, hoping that Ukraine can instead largely fund itself out of loans from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets.
While the political turmoil is viewed as unlikely to affect current plans, it is likely to halt any potential increase in support at a time when Ukraine needs more resources to shore up its front lines. With Britain’s armoury looking threadbare, our own ability to step into this gap is questionable.
Even the briefest glance at Nato spending shows that too many European countries have been happy to behave as free-riders. The costs of this penny-pinching are now apparent to all, with Europe ill-prepared to provide for its own defence. 
The situation in Ukraine, in combination with political turmoil elsewhere, should serve as a sharp wake-up call that countries cannot always rely on someone else to pay the bill. The rest of Europe must now step up and do its bit.