Strains in German coalition as junior partners turn on Scholz over Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: Germany's Greens party parliamentary group chair Anton Hofreiter speaks after the presentation of the governing coalition deal between SPD, FDP and Greens in Berlin, Germany, November 25, 2021. REUTERS/Michele Tantussi/File Photo

(Reuters) -Frustration is growing among German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's junior coalition partners over what they say are shortcomings in his leadership on Ukraine, an internal rift that risks undermining Western unity against Russia.

After a dramatic policy pivot at the start of the crisis, when Scholz halted the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project with Russia days before its invasion of Ukraine, and then vowed a big jump in defence spending, his partners accuse him of dithering.