The BSW is urgently seeking clarification.
On the ZDF talk show "Maybrit Illner," the discussion was intended to focus on the future of Ukraine. However, a heated disagreement arose over the BSW party's actions during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's speech at the Bundestag on Tuesday.
It's unusual for a foreign head of state to deliver a speech in the Bundestag during a state function. On Tuesday, President Zelenskyy gave an impassioned address to the parliament. Most parliamentarians and the media were highly critical of the BSW and AfD parties, whose seats were empty during the event.
Instead of talking about Ukraine's possible future and how to achieve peace in the country ravaged by a Russian attack, Illner changed the subject with a question. She wanted to know why the BSW hadn't been there for Zelenskyy's speech.
Amira Mohamed Ali, a panelist, remarked, "That's really shameful," borrowing the same words used by her co-host on the ARD talk show "Maischberger." The statement seemed rehearsed. There was never going to be a debate about the speech in the Bundestag - that's not how these events traditionally go - and the gathering was meant to honor Zelenskyy. "We didn't want to be a part of it." They wouldn't have attended if Putin had spoken at the Bundestag either. The claim that Ukraine doesn't care about the BSW is false, Ali added. "We believe the war in Ukraine should end. Just have a different view on how it should end." Choosing a path to victory through military force is wrong, she continued. We shouldn't always be associated with the AfD because they behaved similarly on Tuesday, Ali emphasized.
"Both parties left," SPD Chairman Lars Klingbeil pointed out. "I find it an inappropriate signal to leave empty seats when Mr. Zelenskyy speaks in the Bundestag," he said. "That bothers me, and every time you two do that, people hear you're in the same boat with the far-right extremists. I'm tired of it," Ali responded.
CDU foreign policy politician Norbert Röttgen came to Klingbeil's defense. "You need to accept that. If you keep reacting the same way because you can't stand it, when a president of a country under attack speaks in the Bundestag, you're showing that BSW and AfD are the two pro-Putin parties. That's been the case for a long time."
"That's really shameful," Mohamed Ali interrupted. "I'm telling you, by staying away, we spoke to the hearts of many people in this country who feel the same way." "You're poisoning the hearts of the people," Röttgen countered. "But just because both parties do the same thing, it doesn't mean they think the same thing," Ali retorted.
Wolfgang Ischinger, former diplomat and head of the Munich Security Conference, also joined in. "To be honest, I wouldn't make a big deal out of it." He was critical of the BSW's statement, which argued that Zelenskyy was risking a nuclear war. "May I ask: Who has nuclear weapons? Ukraine gave up all the nuclear weapons stationed there under pressure from Russia and the United States in 1994. And who has threatened to use nuclear weapons in the past two years? Was it Zelenskyy? He doesn't have them and hasn't threatened to use them. It was Medvedev who made those threats. He's been making them consistently for weeks because he knows: Fear is being spread. And you've twisted this fear into something ridiculous." Only Putin should be blamed for his nuclear threats, not "innocent" Zelenskyy.
Mohamed Ali defended the BSW's stance, noting that Putin indeed possesses these nuclear weapons. But Zelenskyj is trying to drag NATO into the war, Ali said, so if anyone is risking a nuclear war, it's him.
Deitelhoff, a political scientist, criticized Mohamed Ali and Klingbeil by saying that it's not actually Zelenskyj who is risking a nuclear war but rather the German government if there is one. "Then you'd have to stay away from the parliament all the time because they're there quite often." In terms of the nuclear threat, there's a lot of self-restraint among NATO countries, and it's clear that Russia isn't escalating the war.
The West should keep supplying weapons to Ukraine, Klingbeil stressed. "Not providing weapons would amount to surrendering to Putin," he stated. They agreed on that point, but Klingbeil emphasized that he favors diplomatic solutions more.
For the first time on an international level, these diplomatic solutions will be discussed at a peace conference this weekend. It will take place at the Swiss luxury resort of Bürgenstock and will see over 160 delegations in attendance. Notable absences include Brazil and China, but India will be there, according to Deitelhoff. She predicts that only small initial steps towards peace in Ukraine will be taken but believes it's still a positive development.
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Sahra Wagenknecht, a prominent figure in German politics, defended the BSW's decision to not attend President Zelenskyy's speech, stating that they believe in ending the war in Ukraine but not through military force. However, Norbert Röttgen, a CDU foreign policy politician, criticized the BSW's absence, suggesting that it gave the impression that they are pro-Putin parties, as both the BSW and AfD left empty seats during Zelenskyy's speech.
