"We need a peace initiative from the SPD," Bernd Westphal, who is the party spokesman on matters of economic policy, reportedly said at the meeting, calling for "more intelligent solutions" than war, which destroys lives and infrastructure and makes everyone poorer.
Comment: Germany has been sending the Nazi's in Ukraine weapons...
"The SPD is the peace party and must provide an impetus for it," Westphal argued, according to people present at the meeting who spoke to Der Spiegel. Similar statements came from fellow Bundestag members Nina Scheer and Ralf Stegner. According to Stegner, Germany should be active in politics and diplomacy, and not be reduced simply to the role of a weapons supplier.
French President Emmanuel Macron also defended diplomacy in a speech on Thursday, telling his diplomats that no one wants "Turkey to be the only world power that is talking to Russia." He has faced vocal criticism from Kiev and eastern EU members for making phone calls to the Kremlin since the conflict in Ukraine escalated in February.
Comment: Macron doesn't want to miss out on any possible benefits - after all, the AUKUS scandal revealed that the establishment will readily sideline France - and so he's up to his usual brazen duplicitousness towards Russia.
While no one at the SPD meeting in Dresden objected to the calls for peace, MP Michael Roth - who chairs the foreign affairs committee - later denounced his colleagues' statements to Der Spiegel.
"It's not as if there hasn't been a variety of diplomatic efforts," Roth said, claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin's "psychological warfare is aimed precisely at our fears. He wants to divide our societies and delegitimize our support for Ukraine."
The Russian president doesn't want peace, Roth insisted, so SPD members advocating for it are "falling into his trap again."
Comment: Roth and his colleagues clearly already split, because on one side they suddenly want diplomacy (gas?) and on the other Putin is a psychopath who can't be reasoned with. They can't both be right. And these irrational and warped perspectives are rather telling as to the state of Germany's leadership.
Earlier this week, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock - member of the Greens, a junior partner in Scholz's "traffic light" coalition - told a conference in Prague she intends to support Ukraine "no matter what my German voters think," even if they take to the streets this winter because they can't afford the skyrocketing energy bills.
Comment: That's a rather pathological statement, one that Baerbock might come to regret.
Coincidentally, over in Prague, that very thing just happened: 70,000+ protest in Prague against Czech government, EU and NATO, condemn green agenda and sanctions on Russia