The term „Scholzing“ is a new neologism that goes back to Timothy Garton Ash, a British historian. The term first became widespread on Twitter. Here, the term „Scholzing“ refers to the communication of the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Especially with regard to the war in Ukraine, the term „Scholzing“ is used again and again. Accordingly, the term can be explained as follows:
What does „Scholzing“ mean? Meaning, definition, explanation
The British historian first brought the new word into circulation after a speech by Olaf Scholz at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Timothy Garton Ash criticises the fact that although many new words were used by the Chancellor at this congress, the weight of content was rather low.
In addition, some critics think that Olaf Scholz is more of a flag in the wind and only makes firm decisions when other countries have already made the first move.
In particular, the term means outwardly showing good deeds or intentions, but afterwards finding all the reasons not to do these good deeds.
In the international press, Olaf Scholz was criticised for a long time because he hesitated to send battle tanks to Ukraine.
Since Chancellor Olaf Scholz will remain Chancellor for some time in the crisis period and is also likely to act rather cautiously in the future, the term „Scholzing“ will be heard even more frequently. In the German language, „scholzen“ could then become part of the vernacular, just like the term „lindnern“.
Incidentally, the verb „Scholzing“ has long been found in Ukrainian memes.
What was the trigger for „scholzing“? Origin, history
The reason for this new term was the long hesitation over deliveries of battle tanks to Ukraine. At the beginning of 2023, Olaf Scholz came under increasing criticism. The background was the opposition to the delivery of modern Leopard battle tanks. Even before the meeting in Ramstein, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky had appealed urgently to the German government to finally support Ukraine with German Leopard battle tanks. Last but not least, several NATO and EU countries as well as Poland have declared their willingness to send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
Nevertheless, Olaf Scholz did not let himself be carried away by a hasty decision. In addition, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) made a statement in Ramstein that the German government would first have to check how many of the Leopard 2 tanks were actually available in order to then decide what quantity could be delivered to Ukraine.
„Scholzing“ in Ukraine
When the British historian first floated the term „Scholzing“, he had noticed after some time on his Twitter account that this post had been viewed millions of times. Even the media feasted on his post. Ash immediately clarified that he was not the originator of the term or the definition. However, no one was really interested in this clarification, which is why the opinion remains that Ash is the author. However, the historian cannot make any statement about the actual author of this definition. What is certain, however, is that the term „scholzen“ has been used in Ukraine for a long time; at least since the summer of 2022.
Olaf Scholz consoles himself with a trip to Paris
To avoid all the hullabaloo, Olaf Scholz decided to travel to France for political maintenance. There he met with President Emmanuel Macron, who invited him to the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty. This treaty was signed on 22 January 1963 between the then French President Charles de Gaulle and the German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. It was agreed that Germany and France should be brought closer together than ever before. This was to happen not only economically, but also in security, foreign and cultural policy.