After the sometimes severe criticism of Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer because of his support for the open letter from artists and publicists to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), the CDU politician spoke in detail on Tuesday evening.
"I have great concerns about arms deliveries, especially when it comes to tanks and howitzers," said Kretschmer at a regional conference of the Saxon CDU in Wilsdruff near Dresden.
Although he accepts his party's approval in the Bundestag for the delivery of heavy weapons for the defense of Ukraine, "all opinions must be heard and allowed to be expressed".
Stephen Locke
Correspondent for Saxony and Thuringia based in Dresden.
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This war is a terrible crime and there is “not the slightest reason” to put things into perspective, said Kretschmer, and received great applause from the 250 or so people in the hall.
In addition, it is completely clear that the aggressor is based in Moscow and it is impressive to see how people in Ukraine are fighting for their freedom.
The big question, however, is how far the support can go.
"I think Habermas is absolutely right when he says that the war also has an impact on countries that are not directly affected." Kretschmer warned that the consequences for Germany are already dramatic.
In his view, there must be a ceasefire as soon as possible.
"We must enforce the peace."
Kretschmer: No quarrel with Friedrich Merz
Kretschmer said in the CDU presidium on Monday that the open letter "does not reflect the majority of published opinions, but definitely the majority opinion of society, including mine".
The CDU federal chairman Friedrich Merz had clearly contradicted this.
Kretschmer explained on Tuesday that he supports the decision of the Bundestag and that interpretations of a rift between Merz and him are wrong, on the contrary.
Although there are different views in terms of content, they have clearly expressed them.
He actually intended not to say anything on the subject, but complied with Merz's request.
According to Kretschmer, Merz always wants to know from everyone how they think about things, especially if they see them differently.
In the Saxon government coalition of the CDU, Greens and SPD, there had been strong criticism of Kretschmer's statements on Tuesday.
The CDU state group in the Bundestag, which approved the arms delivery last week, stated that it did not share the Prime Minister's view.
The SPD state chairman wrote on Twitter that Kretschmer did not speak for the coalition on this matter.
According to surveys, Kretschmer's statements, according to which a majority rejects the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine, do not apply to all of Germany, but to Saxony.
In the ARD Germany trend last week, the camps of supporters and opponents were about the same size.
The pollsters at Civey came to a similar conclusion in a nationwide survey.
In Saxony, however, the institute of the "Sächsische Zeitung" determined a different picture.
According to this, 68 percent of respondents in the Free State spoke out against the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine and only 28 percent in favor, which Kretschmer underlined with his statement.
He wished that his party would have the ability to endure different opinions on this issue, too, he said.
On Tuesday evening, however, the head of government also spoke out in favor of investing quickly "in a significantly changed security architecture".
The 100 billion euros announced by Scholz for the Bundeswehr are nothing more than compensation for the deficit of the past decades.
However, the Federal Republic and Europe would have to show clear strength in the future.
"You will only be able to deal with Russia if you are able to defend yourself," said Kretschmer, pointing out that even after Putin, no flawless democrat will presumably come to power in Moscow.
"Only power and strength can help." That's why he's currently rejecting an energy embargo.
Germany must not weaken now, said Kretschmer.
"An energy embargo robs us of the power we also need to invest in our defense readiness."