A politician from his own coalition accused Scholz of being an “autistic know-it-all”

Mr. Scholz did not immediately respond to the extremely personal attack. Photo: Christian Bochy/Bloomberg

Olaf Scholz is an “autistic knower.” and that’s it,” said the chairman of the German parliament’s defense committee as tensions rose over Berlin’s refusal to send powerful missiles to Ukraine.

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a politician from Mr. Scholz’s coalition ally The FDP made the sharp rebuke amid disappointment over his decision not to send Taurus missiles to Kyiv, as well as other alleged missteps in office.

She told the German newspaper Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung: “After three years, I noticed that he had almost autistic characteristics, both in terms of his social contacts in politics and in terms of his inability to explain his actions to citizens.”

< p> “You can't get through to him because he's a rude know-it-all.”

She said Mr Scholz's allies felt the same way about the German chancellor and she complained about it too.< Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann accused Mr. Scholz of refusing to provide Taurus missiles for domestic political reasons. Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty

Ms Strack-Zimmermann had previously clashed with Mr Scholz over the Taurus issue and his slow decision-making on the issue. other supplies Kyiv has needed since the war began.

She said in April that the German government's lengthy debate over what weapons or supplies it could send had proven “a disaster for Ukraine.” “.

She also accused Scholz of refusing to provide Taurus missiles for domestic political reasons rather than European security reasons, suggesting he feared a backlash from the peace-loving leaders of his centre-left SPD party.

Mr Scholz did not responded to this immediately. an extremely personal attack on Wednesday afternoon.

He has previously argued that Taurus missiles are a red line for Germany because they require German troops on the ground to fire them, a justification disputed by security analysts and Western allies.

Ms Strack-Zimmermann's comments are particularly embarrassing for Mr Scholz because her FDP party is part of his own coalition government.

She is the leading FDP candidate in next European elections month. Party colleagues dubbed her a “Eurofighter”, meaning fighter, because of her combative style.

This is not the first time Mr Scholz has been accused of being a “know-it-all”. all,” and the German magazine Spiegel ran a mockery on its front page using another German idiom, “Besserwisser,” in November 2023.