Spy scandal: Germany faces tough questions from allies

The publication in Russian media of at least one ostensibly sensitive phone call among high-ranking German air force officers has both the German government and its establishment taking cover from a barrage of criticism. 

From both home and abroad, the questions are piling up. In the Bundestag, the German parliament, the opposition Christian Democrats look to be angling for a special inquiry. Members of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), who lead the government under Chancellor Olaf Scholz, have reacted lukewarmly to the idea. 

"The opposition has every right to call for committees of inquiry. Nevertheless, we should first wait for the investigations and explanations from the public prosecutor, the Bundeswehr and its services," Rolf Mützenich, who leads the SPD parliamentary group, told the DPA news agency on Sunday. 

Scholz has called the matter "very serious" and promised to get to the bottom of it. His defense minister, Boris Pistorius, warned on Sunday that the release of the audio file, which included a discussion of tactical aspects of the German-made Taurus cruise missile, is part of an "information war that Putin is waging." 

"It is a hybrid attack aimed at disinformation, aimed at division, aimed at undermining our unity," he told reporters. 

Politics vs. strategy 

That unity was already under pressure. As Ukraine struggles to hold the line against Russian forces and Western support appears to be flagging, its Western backers have sniped at each other over who is responsible and what more can be done. 

Scholz has touted his country as leading the European pack in terms of aid, which is true in absolute numbers but not necessarily relative to GDP. France, the European Union's only nuclear power, has given far less in quantity but has said its contributions win on quality. That includes cruise missiles, which the United Kingdom has also provided.  

Scholz has been adamant in keeping Germany from doing the same. He has most recently defended this position by saying these weapons require German input for targeting. In his view, that would make Germany a direct participant in the war. His steadfast opposition has raised eyebrows among critics near and far. 

"Scholz's behavior has shown that as far as the security of Europe goes, he is the wrong man, in the wrong job at the wrong time," Ben Wallace, who was the UK's defense secretary until last year, recently told The London Evening Standard newspaper.

Other Western defense officials have expressed concerns that Scholz's politics are hindering a larger strategy. In addition to questions about how the call was captured in the first place, "it also revealed a tension, I think, between senior German military who want to see Taurus dispatched, and the German chancellor who seems increasingly focused on his political survival rather than what's best for the continent," Tobias Ellwood, the former chair of the UK parliament's defense select committee, told BBC Radio 4 on Monday. 

New embarrassment of old problem 

The evidence of Russian eavesdropping, which broke at the end of last week, is only the latest in a long string of security lapses and vulnerabilities. Cases of alleged divulgence of sensitive information include the foreign intelligence agency, the BND, and the Bundeswehr.

"Given the intensity of Russia's spying on Germany and others, they probably have not learned anything that they didn't already guess," Ellwood said. "But that doesn't prevent some serious conversations taking place in the diplomatic corridors between Germany and Britain, and indeed NATO as well, as to why this happened in the first place." 

Germany has suffered from a trust deficit from the get-go, given its history of friendly relations with Russia and underfunding its defense. Both positions required a sharp U-turn following Putin's order to invade Ukraine in February 2022. Germany has repeatedly been in the spotlight to prove its pivot is genuine. 

"I doubt many of the allies are surprised that Russia is spying on the conversations of German military officials. And they may not be surprised the Germans are surprised, which tells you all you need to know about Germany's standing in the alliance," James Davis, the chair of international relations at the University of St. Gallen, told DW. "It only confirms the widespread belief that Berlin has neglected German military capabilities and is hopelessly naive when it comes to the capabilities and intentions of Moscow." 

Edited by Rina Goldenberg

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