The claim
According to a newspaper clipping, Olaf Scholz tells “Time” that the opinion of the people should not be taken seriously and that, in the interests of Europe, a war by Germany against Russia would be conceivable.
Our conclusion
The claims are misleading. Scholz said that he was not basing his opinion purely on opinion polls, but at no point did he say that Germany would go to war against Russia.
While virtually anyone can write something on the Internet, it is something special when a text appears in a newspaper. This makes an assertion or statement seem more serious, right? The fact that this view is not really correct is clearly shown by a photographed newspaper clipping with an alleged statement by Olaf Scholz, which is actually a letter to the editor in which his real statement was completely twisted and freely interpreted: No, the German Chancellor is not considering war on Germany against Russia.
The claim
According to a photographed newspaper clipping, Scholz is said to have made the statement in an interview with “Time”:

The highlighted paragraph says:
“The SPD politician expressed a very strange, almost shocking understanding of democracy: the people shouldn’t be taken too seriously anyway, said Scholz – and for him, European solutions are strict, even if they drag Germany into a war with Russia.”
Update September 9, 2022
The photographed newspaper clipping is circulating again on Facebook:

The source of the claim: A letter to the editor
Surprise: Not everything that is printed in a newspaper is an article, because many newspapers also print letters to the editor without checking whether the statements are correct. And this is exactly what the newspaper clipping is: a letter to the editor that has been cleverly photographed in such a way that it cannot be seen.
Fortunately, this letter to the editor also appeared in the online edition of the newspaper, so you can see for yourself (archived HERE ).

What Scholz actually said
The “Time” interview with Olaf Scholz was also published online ( HERE , archived HERE ). So here are the original quotes from the article:
Regarding the opinion of the people:
In his view, he has been entrusted by the German people to lead based on what he believes—and not what polls say—is right for the country. “If you are a good leader,” Scholz says, “you listen to the people, but you never think they really want you to do exactly what they propose.”
In German:
He believes the German people have tasked him with leading a government based on what he believes is right for the country - rather than what the polls say. “ If you are a good leader ,” says Scholz, “ then you listen to people, but you never believe that they really want you to do exactly what they suggest. “
So Scholz says that although he hears how the people feel about certain issues, he doesn't strictly follow them. In this respect, the statement in the letter to the editor is half-true , the “ people shouldn’t be taken too seriously anyway ” is a cynical, but not entirely wrong, interpretation.
Regarding European solutions:
Scholz's idea of where the nation should go is, of course, shaped by where it has been. “Living in Germany, you can't go away from the disasters of the first half of the 20th century, which were caused by Germany. It is in all the things we do politically, and it is in my mind too because we have a historic responsibility to help secure peace.” For Germany, that means learning to think beyond itself to the broader collective. “We should be the nation that is willing to find the European solutions that are good for all, not just for our country.”
In German:
Scholz's idea of where the nation should go is of course also shaped by where it has been. “If you live in Germany, you cannot escape the catastrophes of the first half of the 20th century that were caused by Germany. This shapes our entire political actions, and it also shapes me, because we have a historical responsibility to help secure peace.” For Germany, this means that it has to learn to think beyond itself and towards the bigger picture focus. “ We should be the nation that is ready to find the European solutions that are good for everyone, not just our country. “
When it comes to political action, Germany should not only think about itself, but should think in a European way. However, Scholz never said or suggested that Germany would therefore go to war against Russia.
Conclusion
The claims in the photographed letter to the editor are misleading. Although Scholz said that he does not rely purely on opinion polls, which can cynically be described as "Scholz doesn't take the people seriously", he never said that Germany would go to war against Russia.
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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

