Defense Minister Boris Pistorius began to warn the Germans that they should prepare for decades of confrontation with Russia - and that they should quickly restore the country's armed forces if Vladimir Putin plans to stay at the border with Ukraine.
The Russian military, as he said in a recent interview with German media, fully occupied by Ukraine. But if there is a truce, and Putin, the President of Russia, will have several years to restart, he believes that the Russian leader will think about checking NATO unity.
"No one knows how it will continue," Pistorius said about the current war, claiming the rapid increase in the number of the German army and replenishing its arsenal.
Mr Pistorius's public reservations reflect significant changes at the highest level of leadership in a country that avoided the strong army after the Cold War. Anxiety is becoming more louder, but the German community is still not convinced that new aggressive Russia is threatening the safety of Germany and Europe.
But now, with unreliable America, aggressive Russia and China that seeks, as well as seemingly war in Ukraine, has come to a dead end and a very unpopular gas conflict, German officials are beginning to speak of the emergence of a new, complex and alarming world that will have serious consequences for European and transatlantic.
Their direct concern is the growing pessimism that the United States will continue to finance Ukraine's struggle, as well as Germany, the second largest depositor, agreed to double the contribution this year to about $ 8.5 billion.
Now some colleagues of Pistorius warn that if American funding is exhausted and Russia wins, its next goal will be closer to Berlin.
"If Ukraine was forced to surrender, it would not satisfy Russia's thirst for power," said Bruno Kalun's German Intelligence Head of German intelligence last week. "If the event does not demonstrate clear readiness for protection, Putin will no longer have a reason to attack NATO."
Over the decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, most Germans are accustomed to the idea that the country's security will be ensured if it works with Russia, not against it, and that China is a necessary partner with a critical market for German cars and equipment.
Even today, Solz, the Social Democrat, whose party has traditionally sought to have decent ties with Moscow, does not seem to discuss a much more confrontational future with Russia or China, which is so vividly described by leaders of German defensive and intelligence services.
With the exception of Pistorius, little known before he was elected to manage the Ministry of Defense, few politicians will speak on this topic in public. Mr Scholtz is especially careful, paying attention to Germany's relations with the United States and beware of pressure on Russia too severely and its unpredictable president.
Taurus has a radius of more than 300 miles, that is, Ukraine can use it to strike deep into Russia. And Scholz does not want to risk, as well as the Bundestag of the country who voted against the resolution calling for the transfer. Although this decision seems to be in line with the opinion of Germany, Scholt wants to avoid this topic.
But if he still does not want to press too much on Putin, it shares the caution of the Germans.
Polls show that the Germans want to see a more capable German army. But only 38 percent of the respondents said they wanted their country to participate in international crises, which is the lowest since they began to put this issue in 2017, according to the Körber Foundation, which conducted the survey. From this group, 76 percent said that interaction should be diplomatic, and 71 percent were against Germany's military leadership role in Europe.
German military officials have recently caused a slight indignation when they assumed that the country should be "Kriegstüchtig", which is roughly translated as the ability to fight and win war.
Norbert Rettgen, opposition legislator and foreign policy expert of Christian Democrats, said that the term was regarded as a "rhetorical excess" and quickly refused.
"Scholz always said that" Ukraine should not lose, but Russia should not win, "which indicated that he always thought of a dead end, which would lead to a diplomatic process," said Mr. Rettgen. "He considers Russia more important than all countries between us and them, and he lacks a European feeling and his possible role of European leader."
Scholz's ambitions are also prevented by its weaker economy. Last year, it decreased by 0.3 percent, and about the same expected in 2024. The cost of war in Ukraine and the economic problems of China, which were most hit by automobile and production sectors, exacerbated the problem.
Although Mr. Sholtz recognizes that the world has changed, "he does not say that we must change with him," said Ulrich Shpek, a German analyst.
But this may well require much higher military expenses - more than 3 percent of the gross domestic product of Germany. At present, few of Mr. Sholtz's party dare to offer to go so far.
The Germans, and even the Social Democrats, "came to the understanding that Germany lives in the real world and that rigid power matters," said Charles A. Kupchan, an expert from Europe at Georgetown University.
"At the same time," he said, "there is still hope that it is just a bad dream, and the Germans will wake up and return to the old world."
