US-Weapons - Tempers Flare in Campaign: Ramelow, Wagenknecht, Hoefle and the Tomahawks
To the stories that Bodo Ramelow particularly likes to share, belongs the tale of how he sat in the Bonn Hofgarten back then, at the beginning of the 1980s. Willy Brandt and Petra Kelly were there, as well as approximately 300,000 other people, and of course the young Hessian labor secretary Ramelow. They protested against the deployment of US medium-range missiles in Germany. "Disarmament – disarmament leads to war!", he shouted against the NATO double decision, Ramelow recalls.
More than 40 years later, he no longer sits among peace activists but in the Thuringian State Chancellery. However, his stance has remained the same.
"We don't need any further stationing of long-range weapons in the Federal Republic," he told stern. "Yes, for defense of the state – but no to even more weapons that can reach far into the territories of other countries."
Ramelow reacts to the joint declaration of the USA and the Federal Republic. The paper was distributed at the NATO anniversary summit in Washington on a Wednesday. Starting in 2026, Tomahawk cruise missiles of this type are to be stationed in Germany. They have a range of significantly more than 2000 kilometers. Initially, these medium-range weapons were intended for the use of nuclear warheads.
Also mentioned in the declaration are SM-6 missiles and hypersonic weapons, which are still in development. The plan, it was said, demonstrated "the commitment of the United States of America to NATO as well as their contribution to integrated European deterrence". The weapons systems had an overall range that was "significantly greater than that of the currently deployed land-based systems" in Europe.
Clearly, this is a sign against the aggressor Russia. But for Ramelow, it is exactly the wrong sign. "We need a peace offensive, but not always more and heavier weapons", he said. That's why he has recently welcomed the talks of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow and Beijing.
Clearly, the only left-wing minister-president is moving towards the old party line again, which he abruptly left after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In contrast to the overwhelming majority of the Left, he spoke out in favor of arms deliveries to the attacked country. This is a matter of self-defense, he declared.
Recently, Ramelow shows himself solidary with Ukraine on inquiry, but he demands a ceasefire much louder than before.
This could also be related to the fact that in Thuringia, on September 1, a state election is taking place, in which Ramelow is fighting for his office. And just like throughout Eastern Germany, arms deliveries are viewed much more critically there than in the rest of the federal territory.
AfD and BSW lead in Thuringia ahead of Linke
In the surveys, the Linke, despite Ramelow's office bonus, is now behind the AfD and the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW). Both have long declared themselves the only "peace party", while the Linke appeared split.
AfD state chairman Bjoern Hoecke, for example, often takes Putin's side. "Russia is a besieged country. And Russia wants peace", he said in April. And the decision of the USA to allow the Ukraine limited attacks with American weapons on Russian territory was later commented on X as: "Germans, Europeans, wake up, rub the media sleep sand out of your eyes and chase the arsonists away from the court!"
Höckes Co-CEO Steffen Möller announced on Thursday that he will make the announcement from Washington on the topic during the campaign. "The planned deployment means a terrible escalation," he told stern. "This only ensures that Germany appears in the target calculators of Russian nuclear weapons." The AfD rejects this completely.
Wagenknecht: "We don't need new arms race"
Möller agrees with Sahra Wagenknecht, the former leader of the Left faction in the German Bundestag, on this point. "The deployment of longer-range offensive weapons does not serve our protection, but makes our country a potential target for enemy rockets and thus puts us in great danger," she told stern. "We don't need a new arms race."
Already today, NATO spends twelve times as much money on weapons as Russia, according to the BSW chairwoman. "A major European war may be calculable for the Americans in a safe distance, but for the people in Germany and Europe it would be devastating." It's not about being "war-ready," but "finally becoming peace-loving" again.
Wagenknecht had to repeat these sentences in the markets of her birthplace Thuringia many times this summer – just as in the neighboring state of Saxony, where an election for the state parliament is also taking place. Here, one is already putting on peace policy shoes, as the CDU under Michael Kretschmer also takes a decidedly peace-critical stance.
The Saxon Minister-President has been calling for negotiations with Putin for the past two years. "We urgently need diplomatic efforts to move the Russian president towards a ceasefire," he told stern in February. With this stance, he enjoys high approval ratings.
What does Kretschmer think of new US intermediate-range missiles in Germany? For an inquiry, the head of government was not reachable on Thursday. He is still on a few days of vacation before the campaign for war and peace really gets underway.
- In response to the joint declaration, Thuringian State Minister-President Bodo Ramelow expressed his opposition to the plan to station Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range exceeding 2000 kilometers in Germany from 2026.
- Ramelow argued that more weapons with the capability to reach far into other nations' territories are not necessary for state defense.
- He praised the talks between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russia and China, emphasizing the need for a peace offensive instead of more and heavier weapons.
- The AfD and Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) are leading in the Thuringian state election surveys, with Ramelow's Linke trailing behind.
- Both AfD and BSW have positioned themselves as the "peace parties," advocating against further weapon stationing and promoting a ceasefire in Ukraine.
- Sahra Wagenknecht, the former Left faction leader in the German Bundestag, agreed with this stance, stating that longer-range offensive weapons do not contribute to the country's protection and can potentially make it a target for enemy rockets.
