Inflation, fatigue wear on Germany’s resolve to help Ukraine
Inflation, fatigue wear on Germany’s resolve to help Ukraine
Transcript
00:00Next to the United States, Germany has been the biggest donor of military aid to Ukraine
00:05in its two-and-a-half-year war versus Russia.
00:07But that steady stream of assistance of weapons and cash may soon dry up
00:11with shifting domestic policies that cast doubt on Ukraine's open-ended war timeline.
00:17Marcus Harten narrates this Riccardo Marchino report.
00:23The Bundestag is preparing its new budget for next year.
00:27And among other things, its draft plans to reduce the allocation
00:32for military support for Ukraine by half, from $8.8 billion to $4.4 billion.
00:40Parties in Germany's coalition government deny accusations from the opposition
00:46that Berlin's commitment to Ukraine is in question.
00:50All three government parties, from Social Democrats over Green Party over the Liberals,
00:55are still backing Ukraine fully.
00:58There's only in the Social Democrats, there are some of the old belief
01:03that peace should be brought without weapons.
01:07That's wonderful, but I don't see that coming out of Putin's brain right now.
01:12The party's official explanation is that frozen Russian assets
01:17can generate billions of dollars for Ukraine under a plan by G7 countries.
01:23But there is also the reality that since mid-2022, sanctions have prevented Germany
01:30from buying cheap natural gas from Russia, and it had to purchase it
01:35at much higher prices from expensive suppliers like Norway.
01:40Economists say this has driven overall inflation in Germany.
01:45It hit 10% in 2022.
01:48Energy costs initially in the first year after the beginning of the war increased by more than 50%.
01:54Food prices over the last three years have in Germany increased by more than 35%.
02:00On the streets of Berlin, the price hike seems to be felt in many pockets.
02:05Yes, tremendously. Everything. The price of transportation, food, everything has gone up.
02:11And also if you go to restaurants, it's got very much more expensive going to restaurants.
02:16I think a lot of people don't go out so much anymore.
02:19You feel it in your wallet.
02:22Far-right and radical left parties are seizing on this.
02:27They're a minority in parliament, but they are gaining popular support.
02:32The left-wing BSW party, with 10 deputies of the Bundestag's 733,
02:38is one of those calling for a complete end to support for Ki.
02:43Anyone who wants to end death and war must send diplomats to Ukraine, but not weapons.
02:50The right-wing AFD party, with 116 members in the Bundestag, makes a similar argument.
02:58We don't want to deploy our own material to Ukraine because we will need our own material to defend our country.
03:05Polls suggest most Germans continue to support Ukraine's armed resistance to Russian aggression,
03:12but they also show the number is gradually declining.
03:16A recent European Parliament poll said more than 40 percent of Germans
03:21said they consider financial support for Ukraine excessive.
03:26And the same survey showed support for Kiev's entry into the EU has dropped from 58 to 53 percent.
03:35For Ricardo Marquina in Berlin, Marcus Harten, VOA News.
03:42For Ricardo Marquina in Berlin, Marcus Harten, VOA News.