The Russian attack on Ukraine has shaken many Germans, and almost everyone shares the Chancellor’s view that the war in Europe has marked a “turning point”. Still, over the months, the fallacy has spread that the battles and skirmishes are taking place far away.
At no time was there a debate about what this war would wring from us Germans on European soil. There was even less talk about the sacrifices we are willing to make – or have to make. Even discussions that were held lacked the necessary degree of seriousness.
As late as March, voices from almost all parties were still being heard demanding that Germany turn off the gas supply to Russia. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin can rest easy on his holdings. Now Russia has throttled gas supplies for its part: Only 20 percent flow through Nord Stream 1 to Germany – and the outcry is great.
It should not shake anyone’s attitude towards the Kremlin. Moscow is waging a war of aggression, using the gas to weaken the West. If the opinion in Germany were to change and if the compatriots behaved docilely, Putin would have won a crucial battle in this war. The consequences would cost us dearly, politically and militarily.
So it means: stay tough, even if the winter should be uncomfortable.
What should happen now is clear: the turning point must also be reflected in our consumer behavior, as well as in energy policy – from the street lamps, which are lit an hour later, to the return to the home office, should it become difficult in autumn. Of course, politics must also make sacrifices.
At the turn of the millennium, Germany was still extracting so much gas from its own soil that it was able to cover a quarter of its annual consumption. But in 2017, the black-red coalition under Angela Merkel (CDU) banned any form of commercial fracking – even though the companies had environmentally friendly technology compared to the decades before. Their successors, the traffic light coalition partners, should suspend this law as soon as possible.
Not only that: The lifetimes of the nuclear power plants should not be stretched, as the Greens are now tentatively saying, they should be extended until the gas war is over. In concrete terms, this means buying new fuel rods as quickly as possible where they are available, for example in Canada.
The population will be able to bear the losses that are looming in the coming winter more easily if they realize that their own government is doing everything possible to guarantee the energy supply. And “everything” really means everything – far from any ideological reservations.
“Kick-off Politics” is WELT’s daily news podcast. The most important topic analyzed by WELT editors and the dates of the day. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or directly via RSS feed.
