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well, my guest today is the influential chair of the german parliament s defence committee, marie agnes strack zimmermann. so, is germany ready to leave its pacifism behind and project its military power? marie agnes strack zimmerman, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much for the invitation. well, it s a pleasure to be here. let s start with that word that olaf schulz used right after putin s invasion of ukraine, zeitenwende . he promised it would be that word, a turning point for germany and its strategic thinking. more than a year later, do we see real evidence of that turning point, that zeitenwende? yes, yes, definitely we see it. it s a really important word, but it s, of course, not only a word, you need it in your mind. um, first of all, we have now the 100 billion euros for the bundeswehr. this is really important, more money for our army. we are looking for it for years. you said not so long ago that the german army has been bled dry. so now it s the right ....
is the influential chair of the german parliament s defence committee, marie agnes strack zimmermann. so, is germany ready to leave its pacifism behind and project its military power? marie agnes strack zimmerman, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much for the invitation. well, it s a pleasure to be here. let s start with that word that olaf schulz used right after putin s invasion of ukraine, zeitenwende . he promised it would be that word, a turning point for germany and its strategic thinking. more than a year later, do we see real evidence of that turning point, that zeitenwende? yes, yes, definitely we see it. it s a really important word, but it s, of course, not only a word, you need it in your mind. um, first of all, we have now the 100 billion euros for the bundeswehr. this is really important, more money for our army. we are looking for it for years. you said not so long ago that the german army has been bled dry. so now it s the right direction. but that s ....
And, um. not everybody, but nearly everybody, and now we realise there is no paradise. and so now we have to change a lot. and we have this discussion for years now. um, the first time, 2014, when putin attacks, attacked the ukraine for the first time, it was a discussion, but it was really a very soft one. and in this situation, i was very happy that our minister, kristian inknauf, minister of finance, that we have the possibility now to buy more things, to prepare the german bundeswehr to be a modern army. but, if i may interrupt, you say, yes, now scholz is getting real and that things are happening. but here s what eva hogl said just the other day, now she s the german parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, she said not a single euro or cent has yet been spent from this special 100 billion euros. yeah, it s. for sure, it s not true, you know, 100 billion euros it s a really. it s really a lot of money. ....
And so now we have to change a lot. and we have this discussion for years now. um, the first time, 2014, when putin attacks, attacked the ukraine for the first time, it was a discussion, but it was really a very soft one. and in this situation, i was very happy that our minister, kristian inknauf, minister of finance, that we have the possibility now to buy more things, to prepare the german bundeswehr to be a modern army. but, if i may interrupt, you say, yes, now scholz is getting real and that things are happening. but here s what eva hogl said just the other day, now she s the german parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, she said not a single euro or cent has yet been spent from this special 100 billion euros. yeah, it s. for sure, it s not true, you know, 100 billion euros it s a really. it s really a lot of money. and it s. ....