German chancellor candidate suggests restarting Nord Stream pipeline
The AfD’s Alice Weidel has stated that Germans “can count” on her party to reestablish energy connections with Russia. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Alternative for Germany co-leader Alice Weidel has stated that Germans “can count” on her party to restore energy links with Russia. She has pledged to reactivate the sabotaged Nord Stream gas pipelines if her party wins in next month’s general election.
During a gathering in Riesa on Saturday, AfD members officially endorsed Weidel as their candidate to succeed Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose coalition government fell apart late last year. Weidel’s nomination represents the right-wing AfD’s first attempt at the chancellorship in its 11-year existence.
In her speech following the nomination vote, Weidel promised to implement stringent immigration policies, which include the “remigration” of immigrants already residing legally in Germany, and to eliminate the outgoing Scholz’s green policies aimed at reducing energy costs. She emphasized that revitalizing energy relations with Russia is essential to achieving this objective.
“We will put Nord Stream back into operation, you can count on it,” Weidel asserted to her party.
Prior to the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Germany depended on Russia for 55% of its natural gas supply, primarily transmitted through the Nord Stream 1 pipelines. The Nord Stream 2 lines were supposed to go online in 2022, but Berlin revoked the certification for Nord Stream 2 just days before Russia’s military operation began, and the pipelines were subsequently damaged in acts of sabotage in September that year.
Reports indicate that German investigators have largely concluded that Ukrainian saboteurs were responsible for the destruction of the pipelines. In contrast, American journalist Seymour Hersh has alleged that the CIA and US Navy were involved. Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, accused “professional saboteurs from the Anglo-American special services,” referring to the US and UK.
Scholz’s actions to cease Russian energy imports, coupled with his government’s green initiatives, have resulted in skyrocketing electricity costs in Germany, leading some prominent manufacturers, including Volkswagen and BASF, to close facilities and lay off employees.
The AfD is not alone in seeking to repair and reopen Nord Stream. The leftist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance has also called for the lines to be brought back online, with BSW MP Sevim Dagdelen urging last week for the gas pipelines to “finally be put into operation,” and for the German government to “stop giving money to Kiev!”
Germans will vote for a new government on February 23. The AfD is currently polling around 20%, ahead of Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party at 16%, but trailing the center-right Christian Democratic Union at 31%. Even if the AfD were to ascend as the largest party next month, all other mainstream parties in Germany have ruled out forming a coalition with it.
Camille Lefevre for TROIB News
During a gathering in Riesa on Saturday, AfD members officially endorsed Weidel as their candidate to succeed Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose coalition government fell apart late last year. Weidel’s nomination represents the right-wing AfD’s first attempt at the chancellorship in its 11-year existence.
In her speech following the nomination vote, Weidel promised to implement stringent immigration policies, which include the “remigration” of immigrants already residing legally in Germany, and to eliminate the outgoing Scholz’s green policies aimed at reducing energy costs. She emphasized that revitalizing energy relations with Russia is essential to achieving this objective.
“We will put Nord Stream back into operation, you can count on it,” Weidel asserted to her party.
Prior to the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Germany depended on Russia for 55% of its natural gas supply, primarily transmitted through the Nord Stream 1 pipelines. The Nord Stream 2 lines were supposed to go online in 2022, but Berlin revoked the certification for Nord Stream 2 just days before Russia’s military operation began, and the pipelines were subsequently damaged in acts of sabotage in September that year.
Reports indicate that German investigators have largely concluded that Ukrainian saboteurs were responsible for the destruction of the pipelines. In contrast, American journalist Seymour Hersh has alleged that the CIA and US Navy were involved. Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, accused “professional saboteurs from the Anglo-American special services,” referring to the US and UK.
Scholz’s actions to cease Russian energy imports, coupled with his government’s green initiatives, have resulted in skyrocketing electricity costs in Germany, leading some prominent manufacturers, including Volkswagen and BASF, to close facilities and lay off employees.
The AfD is not alone in seeking to repair and reopen Nord Stream. The leftist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance has also called for the lines to be brought back online, with BSW MP Sevim Dagdelen urging last week for the gas pipelines to “finally be put into operation,” and for the German government to “stop giving money to Kiev!”
Germans will vote for a new government on February 23. The AfD is currently polling around 20%, ahead of Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party at 16%, but trailing the center-right Christian Democratic Union at 31%. Even if the AfD were to ascend as the largest party next month, all other mainstream parties in Germany have ruled out forming a coalition with it.
Camille Lefevre for TROIB News
