Olaf Scholz must have noticed how disappointed many members of parliament were with his speech. At the end of the hour-long debate that followed, in which he was criticized across party lines for lacking courage and initiative, the chancellor took the floor once again. He seemed transformed. Whereas in his actual speech he had read word for word from his manuscript, he now spoke freely and almost passionately. And he received more than polite applause for this – for example when he urged that the promise of accession to the Balkan countries should not be put off any longer.