A year after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s famous “Zeitenwende” (Turning Moment) speech, former Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense Radoslaw Sikorski complained about Germany’s lack of leadership in supporting Ukraine, dpa reported on Sunday, citing Agerpres.

Even if the German government has done a lot from a financial and military point of view for Ukraine occupied by Russia, the prevailing opinion among allies is that “Germany does what is necessary only at the last moment, only under external pressure,” a Polish conservative politician told the German Press Agency , MEP from the opposition party “Civil Platform” (PO).

“And it creates the impression that you are not involved in the problem, that there is reluctance, that Germany is not a leader that responds to the crisis, but stands aside,” said Sikorsky.

Monday marks one year since Olaf Scholz’s Zeitenwende speech in the Bundestag. In this speech, the Federal Chancellor of Germany announced the reorientation of Germany’s security policy as a result of Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Sikorsky called this speech courageous, but noted that some of the changes announced at the time have been implemented. “Americans have a great saying: ‘You don’t just have to talk the talk, you have to walk the talk’ (an expression that could be paraphrased as ‘demonstrating with actions, not just words’). Therefore, when you say that you will spend 100 billion more on defense, I would expect that more than this amount has already been spent,” said the former Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense.

In 2011, as Poland’s foreign minister during the financial crisis, Sikorski said in a speech in Berlin that he feared not so much a strong Germany as its inaction. This statement is repeated many times today when it comes to the desire of the countries of Eastern Europe to see a stronger leadership role of Germany.