German politicians remain incapable of dealing with the reality of Putin's invasion of Ukraine. At every step, they have lagged behind reality by several months and that continues today. It is therefore irrelevant whether or not some of the supporting cast are replaced. Indeed, so habitual is German vacillation that "schotzing" has been coined to mean "the art of making big pronouncements and then doing nothing whatsoever to actually deliver on them."

Germany's stance demonstrates how politicians who rise to power by means of squabbling over one or two words in a post-summit communique that no one will actually read, are unfit to remain in power when real-world issues arise. Today, Germany is essentially killing Ukrainians by its persistent refusal to permit Poland and other European countries to send Leopard II tanks to Ukraine and thereby help Ukraine defend itself against persistent Russian aggression. German politicians are killing Ukrainians not out of malice but out of cowardice and stupidity. It's time for everyone else to ignore German wishes and send tanks to Ukraine regardless of the supposed legal issues this move would create. Lives are at stake, and lives mean more than ink on paper.