Wall Street Journal Facing the two most consequential security threats to America and to the post-World War II democratic international order—Communist China and Russia—Germany is no longer a credible ally. For Germany, cheap gas, car exports to concentration camp China and keeping Mr. Putin calm seem to be more important than allied democratic solidarity.
'Germany has also abandoned the NATO defense-spending target of 2% of gross domestic product, spending only 1.5% of GDP, and it allows Russian chemical-weapons research on its soil. Such research supports assassination campaigns like the one that targeted Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and a former British agent. Mr. Scholz also has committed to pursuing observer status in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and only vaguely to supporting NATO’s nuclear deterrence. This concession has been long sought by Mr. Putin.
'Then there’s Germany’s stance on China. Shortly before entering office, the Biden administration requested that then-Chancellor Angela Merkel delay a European Union-China trade deal. She responded by speeding up negotiations to reach a deal before Mr. Biden took office. This was rude but not surprising. So great was the Chinese Communist Party’s affection for Ms. Merkel that her departure saw the party’s propagandists design a digital tapestry in homage. Mr. Scholz seems determined to earn a similar honor.'