Present-day politics in Germany.

The ruling elites of Germany are under attack: the "Stalinist" is torn into power, by Dmitry Bavyrin for RIANOVOSTI. 08.31.2023.

This autumn, a new party will appear in Germany, which will begin to claim power. Among the main points of its program will be the rejection of support for Ukraine and the lifting of sanctions against Russia. And this almost revolutionary force will be headed by Bundestag deputy Sarah Wagenknecht, known in narrow circles as a "Stalinist".

This is a probable, but not yet guaranteed, development of events. The ruling elite of Germany is ready to eat the land, if only to get rid of Wagenknecht and not to watch how a woman with "unacceptable views" takes away their voters.

Therefore, another force, brute force, can be used against the nascent force. If they hesitate, the new party will be the same as mentioned above - popular, anti-NATO, anti-Ukrainian and anti-confrontational towards Russia.

Such a party seems to already exist in Germany - the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD). But the Wagenknecht force will represent the left spectrum - with class struggle and demands to dismantle capitalism. For the homeland of Karl Marx, this is not at all exotic, moreover, formally this place in Germany has already been occupied by the Left Party, of which Wagenknecht is a deputy. But Wagenknecht is on the rise, and the "Lefts" are dying.

Structurally, the "Lefts" have the right to be considered the heirs of the ruling party of the GDR and Comrade Honecker personally. But in their modern form, they were established in 2007 through the efforts of Oscar La Fontaine , the former leader of the Social Democrats (the party of Chancellor Olaf Scholz ), who claimed the post of head of government after the unification of Germany, but lost the election to its unifier, Helmut Kohl , and then gave way to the reins of the party reign of Gerhard Schröder.

Now La Fontaine is 79 years old, 14 of them he is on a political pension, but he is still remembered thanks to numerous interviews, which are a pleasure to read even for a Russian person. In them, La Fontaine accuses the United States of deliberately fomenting a conflict in Ukraine, which, in his opinion, became their way to destroy the commercial and industrial cooperation between Germany and Russia and thereby weaken both countries.

Wagenknecht made a career in the leadership of the "Left" after Lafontaine's retirement, rising to the posts of faction leader in the Bundestag and co-chairman of the party. But that's in the past. A bright publicist with friends in the media and the cultural environment of Germany, she was already an ordinary deputy, when she suddenly became a "star". More precisely, the actions of the government, which cut off ties with the Russian Federation and sent "Leopards" to the Armed Forces of Ukraine , made it a "star".

Most of the protests in Germany after the start of the NWO were devoted to sanctions and arms sales. And Wagenknecht sometimes acted as an organizer of protests, sometimes simply as a speaker on the part of the dissatisfied. It so happened because the main "motor" of these actions - the AfD - has no friends in the media and is considered "unhanded". Unlike Wagenknecht.

Until February 2022, the "Lefts" held the same opinion about anti-Russian sanctions as the AfD, but cooperation between them was unthinkable: the "Lefts" for the "Alternative" were communist radicals, the "Alternative" for the "Lefts" were unfinished fascists. After February, Honecker's successors split over the Russian-Ukrainian issue (against this background, its founder Lafontaine left the party), and their cooperation with the AfD became a reality using the example of Wagenknecht.

Her finest hour was last year's September speech in the Bundestag, in which she accused the authorities of waging an economic war against the Russian Federation to the detriment of Germany. That speech was applauded in the AfD faction, but only partially by the “Left”. The indignant (and large) half raised the question of expelling Wagenknecht from the party.

She held on, fortunately she had long been accustomed to the indignations of her comrades - she was always considered problematic and quarrelsome, criticizing first for "Stalinism" in historical assessments, then for a radical leftist deviation, now for "an advantageous position for Russia." She also has other disagreements with the leadership of the Left. Wagenknecht is skeptical about the "new ethic" with the triad LGBT-BLM-feminism (because it distracts from the class struggle), uncontrolled migration (because it encourages capitalist exploitation and takes away places from local workers) and green politics a la Greta Thunberg ( because which is costly for the poor).

And in foreign affairs, Wagenknecht supports the views of La Fontaine. Therefore, it can be called the antipode of Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock, whose rhetoric against Russia was called "Nazi" by Lafontaine. Whatever question you take, if one Frau is for, then the other is categorically against.

Now the balance is such that Wagenknecht is one of the three most popular politicians in Germany with an approval rating of 40 percent, while Burbock and Scholz are not even in the top ten. Polls for her party, which has not yet been created, promise up to 20 percent of the vote, and in a number of states where elections will be held next year (for example, in Thuringia ), up to 25 percent and first place.

At the same time, the rating of the "Left" froze at five percent (the threshold for entering the Bundestag), and in recent months has dropped to four percent. This is the only major opposition party whose popularity is not growing, but falling amid the failures of the government. And when Wagenknecht announced at the beginning of the summer that she would no longer run for the Left, the question arose of what came first - that a promising politician was dumping an unpopular party like ballast, or that the Left had nevertheless squeezed Wagenknecht to their own death.

It is doubtful that without their "star" they will be able to claim a faction in the Bundestag. Moreover, many influential figures among the “left” will go over to the Wagenknecht party, including La Fontaine. He has nowhere to go at all, because he is the husband of Wagenknecht.

By the way, her previous husband, publicist Ralph Niemeyer, left Germany after the start of the NWO and declared himself "the head of a government in exile", which is "ready for negotiations with Russia." That is, he is also a remarkable personality, but not serious enough.

And Wagenknecht is serious. And the German elite faces a serious dilemma: either immediately crush the new force with boots, or first allow it to bury the counter-elite "Left" and lead voters away from the AfD, whose growing influence is still considered the main political problem in Germany.

https://ria.ru/20230831/frg-1893304349.html

@Garry: Could you please move this thread to the International Politics Forum? Just made a mistake.

It should be said that Thuringia is the exception, rather than the rule...there is no other region where Die Linke rakes in that many votes in Germany...on the federal level Wagenknecht's party would have trouble getting the 5% needed to enter parliament at all. Additionally, since she is pretty far left, her party would never make a coalition with the AfD, so at best this would lead to a stronger, but more fractured opposition, which is not what's needed to break the stranglehold of the "United Transatlanticist Front".

Now La Fontaine is 79 years old, 14 of them he is on a political pension, but he is still remembered thanks to numerous interviews, which are a pleasure to read even for a Russian person. In them, La Fontaine accuses the United States of deliberately fomenting a conflict in Ukraine, which, in his opinion, became their way to destroy the commercial and industrial cooperation between Germany and Russia and thereby weaken both countries.

Europe needs to wake up... all the above is true, but you guys have been funding and arming and supporting nazis killing Russians and their allies... so do you honestly think an election change of government and everything will go back to the way it was like the wave of a magic wand?

The reality is that Europe was abusing Russia and cheaply buying raw materials from Russia and then selling finished products back at an enormous profit... the discounts and good deals only benefited Europe.

Why would Russia even want to go back to that?

Because you are so moral and ethical... you just funded and supported nazis in Europe with the goal of destroying the Russian economy and killing Russians so you can go back to giving them a few beads for their raw materials...

I don't think so... that ship has sailed and the Russian economy is doing well because it was always a rich country but it was getting robbed by its main customer the west.

Something many African countries can relate to and now they are seeing Russia break free from the wests tentacles they want to break free themselves...

Now it will be selling its products for a fair price to countries that don't try to rob them or cheat them or damage their economy because the paranoid  feel a little threatened.

Think it is like the Brexit vote... both sides of the argument can pretend what they are fighting for is right and they can promise anything they like but without a real debate with Russia and Russians you might find after you win that they don't care that you have changed sides.

Honestly this is why the Americans blew up the gas pipes because they knew the Germans might flip in the middle of a cold winter when they run out of gas and jump ship and beg the Russians to pump the gas they need to not freeze to death... talk about disloyalty to the US... US allies are supposed to freeze to death for any US cause... it is Americans freezing to death that stops wars don't you know.

Sarah Wagenknecht decided to found her own party in Germany, by Anton Antonov for VZGLYAD. 09.10.2023.

Bild reported the intention of Bundestag member Wagenknecht to create her own party in Germany.

By the end of 2023, Bundestag deputy Sarah Wagenknecht will create her own party in Germany, sources close to her said.

The creation of the party is likely to be announced after state elections in Bavaria and Hesse in October. Wagenknecht herself did not officially announce this decision, but spoke about the issues that would be most significant for her party, TASS reports with reference to Bild.

Wagenknecht's party will push for a foreign policy that "emphasizes diplomacy rather than arms deliveries." They also declare a desire to achieve peace with Russia. Wagenknecht opposes the growth of the military budget, and also believes that sanctions harm Germany more than Russia.

Wagenknecht calls for the creation of state bodies to control the market, demands an increase in wages, the introduction of taxes on the profits of large concerns, and state regulation of prices.

She also rails against “cancel culture,” complaining that people who seek to “control and restrict migration are being compared to Nazis.” Wagenknecht expects her party to become a voice for those who vote “in self-defence” for the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany.

“Many people write to me: “If you don’t do anything, then I will choose the AfD in desperation,” she said, emphasizing that this is said “not by right-wingers or extremists,” but by people who deserve to be given a “serious offer.”

Let us recall that survey data conducted by the sociological institute Insa indicate that Wagenknecht, who was the head of the Left Party faction in the German parliament and who had serious disagreements with the leadership of the Left Party, rose to third place in the popularity rating of German politicians.

https://vz.ru/news/2023/9/10/1229689.html

The americans were right to blow up the pipes to Germany... a little collapse of the core of their economy... industry... and they start talking about peace. Peace doesn't make Boeing trillions of dollars. Why do they selfishly think about the conditions of Germans in Germany or Europeans in all of the EU when there are a few families in the US that will make their massive fortunes slightly bigger with more of this death and destruction all the way over in Europe...

Selfish bastards.

AfD is now by far the largest party in Brandenburg with 32% support

AfD is now 12 percentage points larger than Chancellor Olaf Scholz's SPD party

Germany called on the EU to seek a truce in Ukraine, by Olga Nikitina for VZGLYAD. 10.03.2023.

Germany called on the EU to seek a truce in Ukraine amid declining US support.

European leaders, against the backdrop of declining American support for Ukraine, must take steps as soon as possible for a ceasefire and a truce, said Bundestag deputy from the Left Party Sarah Wagenknecht.

Wagenknecht believes that Brussels is drawing “dubious” conclusions from the situation with the refusal of the US Congress to allocate a new tranche of aid to Ukraine. She called “incredible” the statements of the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, who promised to allocate 5 billion euros a year to the Kyiv regime for the purchase of fighter jets and missiles.

According to the politician, the EU should refuse billions of dollars in arms supplies to the Kyiv regime and stop incurring costs for the United States in this “puppet” conflict. “The EU must finally think about the needs of its citizens and seek an immediate ceasefire,” Wagenknecht reported to TASS in a message published on social networks.

The politician believes that Germany should not spend money on building up arms in Ukraine. In her assessment, this will only contribute to the continuation of the conflict, which is already causing “enormous damage” to Germany and which “could and should have been ended long ago.”

https://vz.ru/news/2023/10/3/1233142.html

A ceasefire would only be used by Kiev to recover and rearm, Russia should wait till it has decided about any offensives it might start before even considering a truce.

Russia has been asking for a peace deal since 2014 and the west has just bullshitted them and stabbed them in the back and when this conflict started the west thought they could destroy Russia both on the battlefield and also economically with sanctions and they declared no peace talks... everything would be decided with military power on the battlefield... how could HATO fail?

They have clearly failed for such announcements from Germany... (but that was obvious... that is why the US blew up their gas pipelines because they knew they would fold when they realised this was all in US interests and against EU interests).

Thankfully Lavrov and other Russian top-ranking government officials are signalling clearly that there is no intention for any truce.
Kiev has itself to blame for painting itself into a corner with its "law" about never negotiating with Russia and its demand for
unconditional Russian surrender before any truce.

Every bird in the Trees , knows the conditions for a stable peace . But I will briefly pretend to be a Skylark , and sing a beautiful song : The Nazis , in power , need war to survive . For the sake of their personal wealth and safety ,  they find it impossible for peace to break out . Their backers , the MIC , need war for profit , and will not cease , unless their personal wealth and safety is in jeopardy . And it is not . The public in the West , who could bring pressure for peace , either lack political power or will  and their personal wealth and safety is not yet significantly impacted . For peace to come about , it will take more than modest gains by Russia , by liberating the Russian populations in Ukraine alone . Russia in order to end the war must : Physically destroy the Nazis . Damage significantly the MIC backers . Bring enough impetus to mobilise the public in the West , against war . Now the Skylark says the same thing , but more eloquently .

"Alternative" conquers Germany, by Petr Akopov for RIANovosti. 10.09.2023.

Yesterday's state elections in Germany were a strong blow not only to the ruling cabinet, but also to the entire German political system. Because they showed the depth of the crisis in which she is.

Voters in Bavaria and Hesse - these two states account for almost 20 million people, that is, a quarter of the inhabitants of Germany - elected local parliaments. To the ruling parties in BerlinThe coalitions predicted poor results, but they turned out even worse than the polls showed. Chancellor Scholz's party, the SPD, gained only eight percent in Bavaria - yes, this land has never been the domain of the left, but they have never sunk to such a low result. The Free Democrats, their partner in the federal coalition, do not enter the Bavarian Landtag at all: they have three percent. And even the Greens, the only party in the ruling coalition that had a strong position in Bavaria, worsened its result compared to the last elections and did not meet analysts' expectations: it had less than 15 percent. Moreover, they were promised a confident second place, but they came only fourth.

The Greens have exactly the same percentage in Hesse - there they are quite a bit behind the SPD. But for the latter, such a result (15 percent) cannot be considered a success: in the last elections they had 20 percent, and in the year before - 30! That is, over the course of a decade, the Social Democrats lost half of their voters. And who bought them? Who was the main winner of this election?
Maybe the CDU - CSU , which took first place in both states ? In Bavaria, the CSU took 37 percent, and in Hesse the CDU got 34—and they will remain in power. But the fact is that for the Bavarian party this is a very low result, repeating their failure in the last elections, and yet they have been ruling this largest German state forever. Now, like five years ago, they will have to create a coalition with “Free Voters,” whose leader they tried to accuse of neo-fascism, but this did not prevent the party from gaining 15 percent. However, the CDU-CSU cannot be considered the moral winner of these elections - the Alternative for Germany became it.

Harassed by the entire political elite and the state apparatus, isolated (it is impossible to form coalitions with it at any level) and called extremist, the party scored 14 percent in Bavaria, finishing third, and in Hesse - more than 18 percent, not only seriously improving its result, but also taking second place. But neither Bavaria nor Hesse are the electoral base of the AfD, unlike in the east of Germany, where its rating approaches 30 percent and even exceeds them. More precisely, they did not show up before these elections, because now these two West German states will make a significant contribution to the AfD’s ratings. At the federal level, it has confidently exceeded 20 percent. That is, the non-handshake party has become the second most popular party in Germany. And it will only continue to gain popularity, despite all attempts to stop her. Or rather, even thanks to them and the methods that are used against her. During the election campaign in Bavaria, an attempt was made on the life of AfD co-chairman Tino Hrupalla: he was injected with a syringe containing an unknown substance, and another party leader, Alice Weidel, receives constant threats and is forced to avoid public events. Such intimidation methods will not help drive the AfD into a corner - and certainly will not scare voters away from the party.

Because in modern Germany there is a growing understanding that traditional, systemic parties (even those who call themselves “people’s”, as the SPD and CDU do) are not or cannot defend the national interests of their own country and their own people. Neither in domestic policy (and this applies not only to the reception of migrants), nor in foreign policy (and this applies not only to policy towards Russia ). But these systemic parties are capable of defaming and calling “pro-Russian” and “extremist” those who have the courage to defend their position - and more and more Germans are beginning to understand this. For whom the AfD in these conditions is no longer just an “alternative”, but a natural choice.

https://ria.ru/20231009/germaniya-1901526448.html

Germany forgot everything and learned nothing, by Elena Karaeva for RIANOVOSTI. 12.04.2023.

Today Vladimir Putin will accept credentials from newly arrived ambassadors to Russia, among them will be the new head of the German diplomatic mission. At this time, the German foreign policy department and its head, the tireless Annalena Bärbock, are spinning like a snake in a frying pan in order to continue to please Kyiv and at the same time pinch our country. After the announcements six months ago, when our consulates were closed on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, it was the turn of the diplomatic departments of the federal republic located in Russia, from which the flags were lowered just the day before. Closed.

The train is not going any further, please vacate the carriages.

The story is as shameful as it is strange - the last thing the Germans needed was a complication in relations with us. And although the Russian “progressives” blew into everyone’s ears that supposedly the German people had walked the road of repentance and repentance, this did not quite correspond to reality. The current agenda has shown and continues to show this. Although, without us and our victims, it is unlikely that the current generations of decision-makers would have been born.

Well, at least the Germans should at least be aware of this, it would seem.
But no, they are carefully and methodically building an iron curtain on their side. Exactly following American rules and inventing an enemy for yourself. The enemy, or rather the “Russian aggressive bear,” serves as a universal lifesaver for the German political establishment. Inflation, the current recession, the closure and transfer of production to other countries, the inability to wash every day, turn on the heating when it’s cold, and the gas when you need to cook a hot dinner could be blamed on us. Otherwise, before going to bed, they wiped the body in especially tender places with a damp cloth, made a sandwich, and that’s it, that’s it for the evening fun.

The German man in the street, under any circumstances speaking to the authorities Jawohl, and also sehr gut, in order to emphasize his own loyalty, of course, cannot help but feel a pleasant tickle, especially if the consulate in Kaliningrad is closed . Well, at least from this side they showed the Russian Ivan what the Hans and Krauts really think about him.

Ekaterinburg , once upon a time, during the Great Patriotic War, was the stronghold of our state, in the same row as Kaliningrad. This is the same unclosed German gestalt, an unhealed trauma.

Yes, the Hans, Krauts, Olafs and Annalens tell themselves - then they defeated us, but now we will curtain them with iron, caulk them with cast iron and live.

Exactly two weeks ago, the Russian leader noted at an international forum in St. Petersburg : “We don’t want to break off relations with anyone, but we don’t do that. We don’t slam anything - neither doors, nor vents, nor windows. "the conflict with European society. We are having difficult times with the European elites."
Here it should be said - even during the period of the most severe battle with Hitlerism, with the Wehrmacht, with the millions who were in the SS, who served as informers for the Gestapo, with those millions who wrote denunciations, tortured us, burned us and killed us, nowhere and never did the Russians say that fighting the German people. Our enemy was Nazism, not ordinary Germans.

"What are the Russians doing in your house?" - Reich Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels asked an elderly Berlin woman.

“They are singing, my lord,” the old woman answered him.

Difficult times with the German elites, who could not come to terms with the fact that we also saved them, and they were also freed, and they were also helped, not allowing their industry to stop during the oil embargo half a century ago, always supplying them with what they needed - for the German people - on time and on time, in accordance with existing contracts and agreements. That's what we think.

But today, by taking down the flags and lowering the Iron Curtain, Germany tells us that it considers not only the Russian government, but the entire Russian people, its enemy. And he fights with him.

The purpose of the current military campaign is not very clear to those who declared war, but the target is clearly defined.

Therefore, in fact, the German political elite does not ache or scratch anywhere when its representatives send “Leopards” with black crosses on the towers to the North Military District zone, easily solving the issue of supplying shells, ammunition, and in general the entire military component of the current geopolitical crisis. This is not support for Ukraine , this is a war with the Russians.

And just like eighty years ago, today German weapons are killing Russian people, soldiers and civilians.
But we are still not ready to consider the German people our enemy.

We, Russians, generous victors, having paid for freedom from the misanthropic German doctrine with millions of lives, know that the desire for revenge is shameful, but if European hooliganism forces us to answer, we will calmly say: “We can repeat it” - and go about our business.

Let the German accountants think, we have a different agenda, in which neither Europe nor Germany no longer has a place.

https://ria.ru/20231204/germaniya-1913464802.html

Wagenknecht founded her own party, 01.08.2023.

German politician Wagenknecht founded her own party in Berlin.

MOSCOW, January 8 – RIA Novosti. German politician Sarah Wagenknecht, who criticizes Germany's participation in military supplies to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, held the founding meeting of her party.

“We are founding a new party in Berlin,” she wrote on the social network Facebook*.

The politician held a press conference at which she said, among other things, that former mayor of Düsseldorf Thomas Geisel and former member of the Left party Fabio De Masi would run for the EU.

According to preliminary estimates, the starting capital of the new party could amount to 1.4 million euros - this is exactly how much money the Germans donated in 2023 to the predecessor organization, which did not have the status of a party, as Wagenknecht, the manager of the alliance’s funds, spoke about in an interview with the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland media group.

In October, Wagenknecht announced her resignation from the Left party and the creation in the future of her own political force, advocating “sanity and justice.” According to polls, at that time up to 14 percent of Germans were ready to support the future party.

In mid-December, Wagenknecht formed a new parliamentary group in the Bundestag.

* The activities of Meta (social networks Facebook and Instagram) are prohibited in Russia as extremist.

In Germany, the Wagenknecht Party Congress began with gratitude to the Red Army, 01.27.2024.

The SSV Party Congress began with gratitude to the Red Army for the liberation of Auschwitz.

BERLIN, January 27 – RIA Novosti. The first party meeting of the Sarah Wagenknecht Union for Reason and Justice (SUV) began with words of gratitude to the Red Army for the liberation of concentration camp prisoners, delivered by a new party member, writer and journalist Daniela Dan. The speech was broadcast on the political force’s website.

"The Red Army alone sacrificed 13 million soldiers to free all those enslaved and blinded by the National Socialist regime; they gave their lives for it. And for this we are grateful and forever indebted to them, no matter how the situation changes in world over time," she said.

Dan recalled that, contrary to the statement of the head of the European Commission , Ursula von der Leyen, the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by Soviet soldiers, and not representatives of the allied armies.

“The greatest crime in the history of mankind was committed by the Germans. <...> And I think it is important to emphasize that today a party is being created that seeks to preserve the memory of this and draw conclusions from it,” the writer emphasized.

According to her, the creation of Auschwitz became possible only in the shadow of world war, which is why it is so important to have at least one consistent peace party in parliament.

In April 2022, Dan became one of the signatories of an open letter asking German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz not to supply weapons to Ukraine and to call on the Kiev authorities to stop military resistance.

Today, the world celebrates International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On January 27, 1945, the Red Army liberated the largest Nazi death camp, Auschwitz (Auschwitz). Between 1941 and 1945, approximately 1.4 million people died there, of whom approximately 1.1 million were Jews. In total, six million Jews died during the Holocaust. In 1947, a museum was created on the site of the former concentration camp. In 1979 it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

https://ria.ru/20240127/germaniya-1923860562.html

Germany forgot about gratitude to the Russians, by Alexey Nechaev, Kyiv political scientist, for VZGLYAD. 03.02.2024.

It would seem that it is time for Berlin to stop. Nord Streams were blown up by their closest allies, there are no real prospects in Ukraine, the economy is in a severe recession, industry is moving to the USA, and without it and cooperation with Russia, German prosperity is impossible. But no. Instead of being calm about the unification of Russians and thereby paying off Russia's debt for 1990, Berlin is trying to figure out how to blow up the “Crimean Bridge” using Taurus missiles.

I have accumulated too many complaints against Germany. So it's time to summarize them. 30 years ago, the Russians played a key role in the unification of the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR. Russia withdrew its troops from Germany, giving the Germans a chance at sovereignty. But they did not use it, forgetting about their duty to Russia. The Americans, by the way, never withdrew their troops from there.

Further, in the absence of military threats, Germany relied on the development of industry, but all its economic show-offs were based on two things: cheap resources from Russia plus aggressive expansion in foreign markets.

Having accumulated fat and found themselves in the role of the locomotive of the EU, the Germans began an attack on Eastern Europe. The Eastern Partnership policy was impossible without Berlin and it ruined the lives of millions of people, although it is somehow not customary to talk about this.

In the Ukrainian direction, the Germans behaved most disgustingly, constantly interfering in the internal affairs of Kyiv: from protecting the Klitschko brothers and covering up Yulia Tymoshenko at the Charite clinic, ending with ultra-brazen interference in the events in Kiev at the turn of 2013 and 2014.

Remember the agreement between Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition? Whose signature was there among others as a guarantor of the fulfillment of the contract? That's right, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, now the President of Germany.

He also became the author of the Steinmeier Formula, which achieved the implementation of the Minsk Agreements. Steinmeier did all this with the consent of Angela Merkel, who later admitted that Minsk-2 was used to pump up the Armed Forces of Ukraine with weapons.

Yes, Germany did nothing to de-escalate the conflict around Ukraine and in Ukraine. “Liver sausage” Olaf Scholz aggravated the situation even further, and now German military equipment is blazing in the areas of the “Surovikin Line”.

It would seem that it is time for Berlin to stop. Nord Streams were blown up by their closest allies, there are no real prospects in Ukraine, the economy is in a severe recession, industry is moving to the USA, and without it and cooperation with Russia, German prosperity is impossible.

But no. Instead of being calm about the unification of the Russians and thereby paying off the debt to Russia for 1990, Berlin is trying to figure out how to blow up  the “Crimean Bridge” using Taurus missiles, but at the same time avoid a direct collision with Russia.

And exactly at the moment when the whole world learned about the military plans of Germany, what should the German ambassador in Moscow ideally do? That's right, put out the growing fire. What did the ambassador actually do? That's right, I was hanging out at one of the Moscow cemeteries, where another patient of the Charité clinic was buried.

It is clear that Alexander Lambsdorff, whose ancestors served in the Russian Empire, went to the cemetery after receiving direct instructions from the German government. But if today this issue was a priority for German politicians, then...

I’ll say it carefully: then Russia’s supposed military response to the actions of the Bundeswehr, which is trying  to get out of Scholz’s control, will be a fair way to bring Germany to its senses.

That's all I wanted to say. We'll talk about France and Britain later.

https://vz.ru/opinions/2024/3/2/1256134.html

European aggressiveness will hit Europe itself, by Igor Karaulov, poet, publicist, for VZGLYAD. 03.15.2024.

It would be better for everyone if Europe remained a territory of peace. I would live on a historical pension, under someone else’s nuclear umbrella - it doesn’t matter, the USA or Russia. Russia with its resources will survive an armed conflict. But Europe, which has once again turned into a war zone, will finally become an economically unpromising territory.

In Europe the war drums are beating ever louder. Everyone is dancing to them these days - from nuclear powers France and Great Britain to countries from which you least expect it. The mighty Netherlands straightened their shoulders, and Sweden and Finland easily parted with their long-term neutrality. And even states with zero military history, such as Norway or Estonia, have become poised and are trying on brand new epaulettes.

Two things worry Europeans today. First, it turns out that they produce too few weapons. Some countries have already collected half of the artillery and ammunition for the needs of Ukraine, but how to replenish the reserves? It is necessary to increase the production of murder weapons, which is an unusual task for a peaceful European economy.

But still, the defense industry is just an economy. By stimulating the production of guns instead of butter, we remain within the framework of the economy, without affecting deeper things. The same cannot be said about the second European headache. More and more often they express the idea that they should fight themselves, send their citizens to war. Of course, we need to fight with Russia, since Ukraine can no longer cope. And in general, Europe must be able to defend itself, since the United States will soon have no time for this. Either Trump comes to power, or the Taiwan issue will escalate.

And here Europe finds itself at a major historical crossroads. The current European unity was generally possible only because the countries of the continent were tired of fighting with each other. The militaristic testosterone has dried up. France broke down after the First World War. Germany calmed down only after the Second. Italy never really wanted to fight and happily got rid of such a need. Hence “hug, millions”, Schengen and a common currency. That is, until now the European Union has existed as a union of military impotents. But if testosterone levels could somehow be raised, could the new European aggressiveness be focused solely on Russia? Will this not lead to the resuscitation of the former and, it would seem, long-exhausted hostility within Europe itself?

First of all, of course, it is not the new military ambitions of the Scandinavians, nor the battle cries of the Prague residents, nor the threats of the Lithuanian leadership to cross all the “red lines” in relations with Moscow. This is from the category of “where a horse has a hoof, there is a crayfish with a claw.” But the revival of German militarism is a topic worth reflecting on. Those who really want to defeat Russia should remember Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s favorite saying: “Don’t call a wolf to a dog for help.” And in current European architecture, Germany takes the place of the wolf Fenrir from Scandinavian myths, who was chained until the end of time. Only the German top has already taken off the chain and is walking freely around Asgard there, for the time being pretending to be normal.

The entire past world order was focused on ensuring that the threat of war never again emanated from German soil. Germany's peacefulness was guaranteed mainly by two things. Firstly, the feeling of guilt that was instilled in the Germans. Secondly, economic opportunities, which in the post-war years were provided by the Marshall Plan, and in recent decades by access to cheap raw materials from Russia.

Today both of these factors have been eliminated. The German leadership officially absolved itself of blame for Nazism and renounced Russian energy resources. The compensatory mechanism in the form of economic success has stopped working, production is fleeing to America, and the life of the population will become worse and worse. It's time to remind citizens of the military glory of their ancestors, of past grievances - and once again save them from the “chimera called conscience.”

And there really is something to remember. The idea that the Germans lack “living space” would sound no less convincing from the lips of a modern populist than from the lips of Hitler in the early 1930s. Just think how much land Germany has lost since then. This includes East Prussia, 2/3 of which went to Poland, and the current western Polish lands, and the Sudetenland. A hundred years ago, more than 700 thousand Germans lived in Romania, and today – twenty times less. And the historical trauma associated with the loss of Alsace and Lorraine is forgotten only at first glance. Meanwhile, the population of Germany is constantly growing, primarily due to migrants who certainly do not suffer from a lack of testosterone.

You can, of course, convince yourself that the world has changed irreversibly, that EU members have common values ​​that have abolished past enmity - democracy, sexual deviations, postmodernism. But it is worth remembering that the same conversations took place before the First World War; then it also seemed that people had become more civilized and realized that trading and cooperation were more profitable and more pleasant than fighting.

Let's remember something else. At one time, European powers turned a blind eye to the rise of Nazism in Germany and were very pleased with Hitler's rise to power. They allowed the remilitarization of Germany, hoping that Hitler would immediately go east and engage in battle with Soviet Russia. Later he lived up to their hopes, but first they had to quickly surrender their capitals to him. Should we ignore this lesson?

Today, as in those days, Russophobia is going strong. Let’s assume that the Russophobia of the Baltic states will not do much good, no matter how you increase its degree. The Poles are already more promising; a lot of cannon fodder could be prepared in Poland, although they are ruled by cunning people who would be most interested in grabbing a piece of Ukraine. But still, the EU as a military force could rely primarily on France and Germany. However, if the ruling elites of these countries manage to plunge their citizens into a militaristic frenzy, then the question is not even whether they will collide with each other, but whether they will have time to fight together with Russia before that.

It would be better for everyone if Europe remained a territory of peace. I would live on a historical pension, under someone else’s nuclear umbrella - it doesn’t matter, the USA or Russia. She doesn’t need to remember how to disassemble and reassemble a machine gun. There is no need to dig trenches either near Kherson or near Verdun. This will not lead to anything good. Russia with its resources will survive an armed conflict. But Europe, which has once again turned into a war zone, will finally become an economically unpromising territory, which will be bypassed by commodity flows, as they are now bypassing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

https://vz.ru/opinions/2024/3/15/1257894.html

Anti-Establishment German Politician Touts Opposition to Ukraine War, Skepticism of Immigration, by John Miles for Sputnikglobe. 04/18/2024.

Sahra Wagenknecht is finding success in questioning German politics’ pieties and sacred cows.

A new piece on the website Naked Capitalism takes a deep dive into the modern state of European politics. In an article titled “Can a New German Party Steer the European Left in a More Effective Direction?” author Conor Gallagher examines the salience of the immigration issue in EU politics and the growing working-class rejection of the proxy war in Ukraine.

“Aside from Ukrainians, the war against Russia has arguably hurt working-class Germans more than anyone else,” writes Gallagher. "Despite that fact, German politician Sahra Wagenknecht is labeled... one with 'sympathies towards Russia’ for her opposition."

“There's no doubt that it's not Russia that has expanded to the west, it is NATO that has expanded to the east,” said Lazare. So, I think that the people using this to attack Wagenknecht are just insane.”

Wagenknecht is leader of a new party that rejects continued German support for the war in Ukraine. The leftwing politician has also faced criticism from establishment corners for her skepticism towards immigration.

“Wagenknecht’s ‘left-wing conservativism’ would mean a left less focused on identity issues while prioritizing working class economic issues,” explains Gallagher’s article. “While not opposing immigration on any racial grounds, she acknowledges voters’ concerns that too much immigration can be problematic: ‘​​people are experiencing a lack of housing, teachers are overworked, children can’t speak German and there are cultural conflicts.’”

“Wagenknecht gets a lot of criticism for her stance on immigration, but the fact is that’s what German voters are most concerned about,” Gallagher notes, citing polling on the issue.

“I think a lot of people are totally sick and tired of identity politics,” said Lazare. “I want to see class issues be the focus.”

“Obviously we have to protect the rights of racial minorities,” he clarified. “And we also have to recognize that there are a lot of people in the world who have been displaced by war, economics, and climate crises as well.” But Lazare predicted Wagenknecht’s platform would find support in Germany as voters suffering economic hardship often share her skepticism towards mass immigration.

Lazare predicted the attacks on Wagenknecht for her opposition to the war in Ukraine would backfire, redounding to the advantage of the right who have gained significant traction over the issue.

“The conservatives don't want this war in Ukraine,” he noted. “They sympathize ideologically with Putin. And they just don't like this foreign adventurism. And they know their economy is hurting.”

“Americans are tired of war,” he claimed, noting that opposition to funding for the conflict has increasingly gone global. “They've been fighting wars nonstop for a quarter of a century. Each new conflict seems to be more poorly thought out than the preceding one. And they all seem to go badly."

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240418/anti-establishment-german-politician-touts-opposition-to-ukraine-war-skepticism-of-immigration-1117989102.html

Prices in Germany are sky high, but I don't expect any pity from the rest of the world, because Germans can only blame their own stupidity.

The CDU/CSU opposition bloc beat Scholz's party in the EP elections in Germany, by Olga Ivanova for VZGLYAD. 06.09.2024.

Exit poll: The CDU/CSU opposition bloc beat Scholz's party in the EP elections in Germany.

The opposition bloc of the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) is leading the European Parliament elections in Germany with 29.5%, while Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) are in third place, according to a poll conducted by at the exit from the sites by the Infratest Dimap Institute.

The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party takes second place with 16.5%, Scholz's party takes third place with 14%, RIA Novosti reports .

The SPD's coalition partners, the Greens, could get 12% according to the survey. Another coalition member, the Free Liberals (FDP), could get 5%.

On Thursday, the Netherlands became the first EU country to begin elections for members of the new European Parliament. On the morning of Thursday, June 6, the first polling stations opened.

https://vz.ru/news/2024/6/9/1272341.html

Why Scholz's main opponent is changing his rhetoric about Russia, by Gevorg Mirzayan for VZGLYAD. 06.27.2024.

The main candidate for the next chancellor of Germany makes it clear that Ukraine must put up with Russia, the Western press claims. Indeed, the leader of the German CDU party, Friedrich Merz, suddenly softened his recently extremely hawkish rhetoric towards Russia. What does this mean and should you trust such signals?

“The German opposition is calling for peace talks, thereby signaling its readiness to change its position on Ukraine.” With this headline came the British The Times, which spoke about the position of the current leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU, the leading opposition party) Friedrich Merz.

The publication recalls that “in the past, Friedrich Merz constantly demanded that the German authorities supply Ukraine with more military aid, including long-range Taurus cruise missiles.” Now Merz avoids answering questions about the missile supply, saying that he “does not like answering ‘what if’ questions.” And he adds that it was necessary to massively help Ukraine earlier, but now “it’s already June 2024.” A clear hint that it’s time to end this whole story. Simply put, Ukraine needs to make peace with Russia.

This is not just the approach of the opposition leader. “Friedrich Merz is the main candidate for the post of chancellor as a result of the upcoming Bundestag elections in Germany. As the recent elections to the European Parliament have shown, Christian Democrats have significantly strengthened their positions. And if there are no fundamental changes in the CDU or within German politics as a whole, then if Merz wins the elections, Merz, as the leader of the CDU, will most likely lead the government,” Dmitry, deputy director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics, explains to the newspaper VZGLYAD Suslov.

Until recently, it was believed that Russia should not expect anything good from Chancellor Merz. That if they win the Bundestag elections in 2025, the CDU and Friedrich Merz will take an even tougher position towards Moscow than the current Chancellor and leader of the Social Democrats, Olaf Scholz. And now, it turns out, he is giving signals to the contrary?

However, most likely, Friedrich Merz is simply involved in politics. And he and his political consultants believe that for the notorious victory in the elections in 2025 (as well as in the land elections that will take place before this date), he needs to abandon aggressive rhetoric towards Russia.

The fact is that Chancellor Olaf Scholz openly admits that a significant part of the German population “does not agree with the support of Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, which is reflected in the election results.” In particular, in the recent elections to the European Parliament.

“The voting showed that the extremely hawkish approach (personified by French President Emmanuel Macron) does not bring results, and indeed does not enjoy the support of Western Europeans,” says Dmitry Suslov.

And in Germany, the most anti-war sentiments are now demonstrated by East Germans, who overwhelmingly voted for the Alternative for Germany (AfD), a right-wing party that advocates for the defense of German national interests. Which, in turn, consists of cooperation with Russia (for without Russian gas there is no competitive German economy) and stopping crazy spending on Ukraine.

Scholz acknowledges these sentiments, but immediately adds that he cannot change the state approach. And he really cannot – even if he wanted to. Scholz is not only and not so much the leader of Germany, as the head of one of the leading countries of the European Union, obliged to follow the mainstream of pan-European policy.

And this is not to mention the fact that its two coalition partners - the Free Democrats and the Greens - are extremely critical of the Russian Federation. This means that any step to the side could make him the object of severe pressure from Brussels and Washington, and also raise questions about the integrity of the current ruling coalition.

Friedrich Merz, however, is not bound by such restrictions. Therefore, he is now trying to accumulate all the center-right, centrist, nationally oriented votes of German voters. Position yourself as the only force around which “responsible voters” must rally in order to prevent the AfD from coming to power. He has already called on supporters of the SPD, the Free Democrats and the Greens, who will gain “single-digit percentages or not even cross the five percent threshold” in the eastern states, to vote for the CDU in this situation.

There is little time left for enticement. On September 1, state elections will be held in Saxony and Thuringia. And the electoral situation there is terrible for the current government . Thus, in Saxony, the first three places will be occupied by the opposition - AfD (30%), CDU (29%) and Sarah Wagenknecht's new left (15%). In Thuringia, things are even sadder - together the AfD (28%) and Wagenknecht (21%) receive almost half of the mandates. In Brandenburg (where elections will be held on September 22), the AfD is also winning.

It is very important for Merz to win this election demonstratively in order to prove his right to be a collector of German centrists. That is why he so quickly changed his shoes into a peacemaker.

Changing shoes also has an external component. The idea of ​​continuing the war until the last Ukrainian, which is currently a European trend, may cease to be so after November 2024 – if Donald Trump comes to power in the United States. “Trump’s entourage is talking about the early start of negotiations if he comes to power. The Republican candidate will try (not necessarily successfully, but still) to bring Moscow and Kyiv to the negotiating table. Therefore, the CDU is trying to correspond to the future narrative,” explains Dmitry Suslov.

But in all cases we are talking exclusively about changing nothing more than rhetoric. Real political changes can be expected no earlier than 2025, based on the results of possible negotiations, the state of affairs at the front, the emergence of new world conflicts, etc. This means Merz still has time to change his shoes once again.

It is not worth expecting that the leader of the CDU, if he takes the post of chancellor, will proactively take the post of peacemaker.

First of all, with a high degree of probability, the CDU will be forced to form a ruling coalition - and most likely, with those who are now waging a proxy war against Russia. “We shouldn’t hope that the change of power in Germany will change anything. In the CDU/CSU coalition there will be the same FDP and Greens. Only a “grand coalition” with the SPD can soften the picture a little, but no one wants it yet,” Vadim Trukhachev, associate professor at the Russian State University for the Humanities, explains to the newspaper VZGLYAD.

And besides, for real political change Merz needs to go across the line of the collective West. “The CDU fluctuates along with the line of the general Atlantic Western party. Trying to catch the common denominator. At the same time, she herself will not show any long-term constructive attitude towards Russia,” Dmitry Suslov is sure.

And the question now is whether the Germans will believe Merz’s assurances or will they still give their votes to those who are sincerely ready to take care of the interests of Germany. And they really mean cooperation with Russia.

https://vz.ru/world/2024/6/27/1275068.html

As Lavrov has pointed out it is going to take a generation before Russian politicians start trusting western politicians with anything at all.

Any agreements are going to have to be guaranteed with full verification and zipped up super tight and clear and unambiguous.

I suspect a new demand for negotiations after Trump gets into power (and the US actually wants to negotiate anything) is the cessation of all arms and ammo deliveries to Kiev.

Otherwise Russia has no reason to actually stop the conflict.

They might just agree to the ceasefire and withdraw the Ukrainian soldiers and then spend the next decade secretly arming and developing them into a fighting force again on the quiet... much like Hitler did when he came to power and broke all the agreements with western europe and the US over WWI.

I feel sorry for the East Germans because they think they can negotiate peace with Russia and go back to getting cheap gas... Russia is in the process of shifting that to the East and has lots of agreements with China so anything they can direct to Europe is going to be less than what it used to be and probably not for a whole lot longer.

But I am sure the US will be able to boost supplies and make theirs cheaper if they actually wanted to... they are your best buddies... your allies... chat to them about that.

I wouldn't trust Europeans who want to flip flop on the war now... they are just realising they were wrong, but they reacted the way they did because they are Americas little bitches, and also because they are a little afraid of Russia. They thought Russia was growing and that they could knock them down again and remove the threat, but they only made them stronger... and angry.

Now they realise they can't defeat Russia on the battlefield without going full retard and they want to be friends again.

Hitler probably wanted the same in 1945 too. Germany will be lucky because Putin is not Stalin, but he is never going to be your friend again I suspect.

He is an adult and will trade with the west, but for him to allow trade with Europe I rather suspect Europe is going to have to grow up and wear the big pants and get some independence from the US.

How about this for a demand for peace... US forces to leave Europe the way Soviet forces left Eastern Europe at the end of the cold war.

HATO to disband or radically change its rules and structure to actually become defensive... well that might be redundant as the costs in material and money of this conflict has disarmed HATO anyway.

Trillions will need to be spent and real lessons will need to be learned... which will cost trillions more.

(With the effect that leaving HATO and not joining the or leaving the EU might be a good future path for countries like Turkey and Hungary and Serbia)

America will do to Germany what Russia did not want to, by Irina Alksnis for RiaNovosti. 08.03.2024.

The prisoner exchange between Russia and the West has suddenly reminded us of the existence of such a country as Germany. Not so long ago – just a few years ago – there was such a great power, actively and successfully participating in the most important world processes, an economic locomotive and political leader of a united Europe. In its place is now a country floundering in a whirlpool of problems, which, if it appears in world news, then in a minor role, like some Baltics.

By the way, this is what happened this time too.

The main stumbling block in organizing the exchange was Vadim Krasikov, sentenced by Germany to life imprisonment for the murder of bandit, terrorist and sadist Zelimkhan Khangoshvili , who brutally killed Russian servicemen during the war in Chechnya. Berlin took an uncompromising position, refusing any interstate deals involving Krasikov. An unproductive approach, of course, but in a certain sense even deserving respect for its principledness.

But this principled attitude did not last long - Krasikov was released.

German officials are not hiding their displeasure. The German Attorney General's Office is "disappointed" by what happened, and Justice Minister Buschmann called it "the most bitter concession to Putin." Olaf Scholz admitted that this decision was not easy, and that it took several weeks to work on it with American and European partners.

The media is sharing more specific details. Bloomberg reported that Scholz agreed to release Krasikov after a request from Joe Biden , and the agency noted that the initially negative chancellor agreed because of his "warm relations" with the US president . This remark is a transparent hint at what benefit Berlin received for changing its position. None. The Germans gave up their position on an issue that is extremely important to them simply because an order came from Washington.

Some will assume that perhaps some behind-the-scenes, undisclosed agreements are taking place. Twenty or even ten years ago, such an assumption would have seemed reasonable: Germany was then an example of a country that, even under conditions of limited sovereignty, managed to successfully negotiate extremely favorable conditions for itself from its overseas overlord.

But that Germany is no more. What compensation did Germany, whose back was broken, receive from the United States for the loss of the Nord Streams? For the refusal of Russian gas? For the rapid degradation of its industry? For the loss of its status as one of the most important economies on the planet? And now for exposing itself to Russian missiles by deploying American ones?

And she got exactly the same thing for letting Vadim Krasikov go. The master needed it: he ordered - the slave did it.

Of course, the question arises: how and why did the Americans manage to do this? How did Germany and its elites suddenly turn into a spineless substance that had lost any sense of self-preservation and dignity? After all, there were very influential forces there, oriented towards national interests, which, in fact, achieved the transformation of the FRG into a powerful world power. And suddenly such a rapid degeneration. How was this even possible?

Of course, there are, so to speak, political technological reasons for what happened. In particular, the Americans worked very competently with the German upper class, not taking control entirely, but cultivating and subordinating to their will several of its key forces, which now rule the country, meekly leading it straight into the abyss.

But this is only part of the explanation. It seems that the main reason is much deeper and has a purely German nature. Germany - its establishment and, obviously, a significant part of society - could neither come to terms with its defeat in World War II by the Soviet Union, nor accept equal cooperation with Moscow , despite all the grandiose prospects that it promised. Germany was latently living with the need for revenge, which has especially intensified since 2014. The beginning of the NWO became a signal for Berlin that the moment had come for a decisive, fatal blow, but it returned to it like a boomerang: Russia survived, and Germany turned into a doomed puppet.

Eighty years ago, our ancestors showed the highest humanism and mercy to the Germans - after everything that the Third Reich did in the occupied territories and with Soviet citizens. Germany turned out to be ungrateful and did not learn the lesson - and now it will have to pay for it. Ironically, what the Russians had the right to do to the Germans, but did not want to, the Americans will do. History has a peculiar sense of humour.

https://ria.ru/20240803/germaniya-1963771530.html

Put more rape victims in jail, German scum. Sodomite "disappointment" that a legal atrocity was rectified. Cry me a river.

Discontent with government policies is growing in Germany, Pushkov said, 08.07.2024.

Senator Pushkov: Discontent with the current government's policies is noticeably growing in Germany.

MOSCOW, August 7 - RIA Novosti. Discontent with the policies of the current authorities is noticeably growing in German society, but society there is not yet ready for serious changes, Senator Alexei Pushkov said on his Telegram channel.

"In Germany, discontent is noticeably growing, but (the country - ed.) is not yet ready for radical changes. Polls show that 53% are for early elections, 37% are against," Pushkov wrote.

The senator noted that these results show that "more than a third of voters support the de facto rule" of Chancellor Olaf Scholz , no matter how low his popularity is."

"This means that the ruling coalition's liberal approaches to migration, multiple genders, complete dependence on the US , zero or negative economic growth, the closure of many enterprises, spending huge amounts of money on Ukraine , and so on, do not bother this significant part of the population, nor does it bother the fact that migrants regularly kill Germans. 37% like all of this," the politician noted.

The senator also added that 53% are dissatisfied with Scholz's rule - "this is a serious indicator."

"The trouble is, however, that the majority is for elections that will probably decide little. They will certainly lead to a victory for the CDU/CSU and the formation of a coalition with the same Greens. The characters will change, and perhaps not all of them, but not the policy... Thus, as in France and Britain, German voters are essentially choosing the same people, no matter how dissatisfied they may be. Governments change, but not policy. Only a deep crisis of the liberal doctrine and system of power, which is brewing, as evidenced by the growth of support for the AfD, will lead to a change in policy, but it will take time and an increase in the level of popular discontent," the member of the Constitutional Committee of the Federation Council summarized.

https://ria.ru/20240807/germaniya-1964733682.html

Germany's opposition is fighting for "resumption of relations with Russia", while Berlin opposes, 08.09.2024.

A rift is emerging in Germany between the center of the country and the provinces: regional authorities criticize Berlin for what they consider an inappropriate anti-Russian policy and call on the country's central authorities to resume relations with Moscow. Experts interviewed by Sputnik comment on why this fracture is due.

Between peace and elections

Elections will be held in the federal lands of Thuringia and Brandenburg in September. The success of a political party can increase its opportunities to strengthen its positions in the Bundestag (Lower House of the German Parliament). That is why forces that question the policy towards Russia are appearing in the regions.

Thus, the minister-president of Brandenburg and representative of the Social Democratic Party, Dietmar Woidke, has declared that the Ukrainian conflict must be ended quickly and that Berlin has to be an intermediary in the negotiations between Moscow and Kiev. According to him, the majority of Germans want to achieve peace.

Similarly, the President of the Thuringian Government and a militant of the Left party, Bodo Ramelow, affirmed his position by calling on the European Union to sign with Russia the pact that guarantees peace because "Russia is also part of Europe." However, Sahra Wagenknecht's Union competitors criticized Ramelow, calling him a hypocritical person.

"The policy of supplying ever larger quantities of weapons to Ukraine, advocated by the prime minister of Thuringia, failed," he notes in his election programme.

In the east of Germany, according to polls, the population does not support the idea of more military aid for Kiev. Ramelow has his reasons for fearing Sahra Wagenknecht since, according to polls, in Thuringia, the supporters of the popular policy reach 20% and are much more successful than the Left.

Economy and savings

There is another side to the peace talks: anti-Russian policy destroys the German economy. The sanctions aggravated the energy crisis, due to which, according to data from the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 51% of large companies plan to leave the country because production expenses have become too high.

The budget for 2025 estimates a deficit of 5,000 million euros. The draft financial document was approved by the Government, but it is still being discussed in Parliament. The factions of different political parties dispute over whether the planned expenses are rational: some call for reducing domestic expenses and others for reducing foreign ones.

Wagenknecht calls for saving between 30,000 and 50,000 million euros with a change in migration policy and towards the Ukrainian conflict, betting on peace talks. However, in the draft budget, the aid to Kiev was reduced by half of the original proposal, to only 4,000 million euros, enough to cover 80% of the federal deficit.

The Bundestag cannot approve the budget without the authorization of the Bundesrat, the Federal Council that performs functions of the Upper House of the Legislative of Germany, formed by representatives of all the federal lands, whose delegates are determined in the regional elections. That is, battles are being fought in the constituent regions over ways to impose their opinion on Berlin.

Germany's opposition tries to "resume relations with Russia"

Eastern Germany has special political and economic ties with Russia, political scientist Alexei Makarkin reminds Sputnik. That is why, he explains, his population values the country's foreign policy issues differently from the rest of the country and the capital.

"On the eve of the elections in Thuringia and Brandenburg, we observed the attempts to take into their hands the agenda of resuming relations with Russia that they promote and the Alternative for Germany party and the Left. They have to maneuver, determining public opinion," Makarkin stresses.

The Bundestag elections will be held in one year. According to data from the INSA sociological institute, 53% of Germans consider that it is necessary to assign them sooner. The level of confidence in the current coalition government, of which the Social Democratic, Greens and Free Democrats parties are part, fell from 52% in 2021 to 30% today.

"Not everyone in Germany is happy about the conflict in Ukraine. In addition, many amounts of money are directed there, although for Germany these expenses are not critical. In general, more and more Germans want Berlin's efforts not to focus on the military conflict, but on constructive diplomatic measures," says Nikolai Topornin, professor of European law at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).

The German economy is not going through its worst times, however, they failed to achieve the expected GDP increase. Its level is close to 0% growth. "All this provokes political leaders of different levels to promote similar statements, however, it is difficult to estimate to what extent they influence the official position of Berlin. The Germans understand that cooperation with Russia is beneficial. But it is the chancellor and the government who determine the country's policy," sums up Topornin.

Yandex Translate from Spanish.

https://noticiaslatam.lat/20240809/la-oposicion-de-alemania-se-bate-por-reanudar-las-relaciones-con-rusia-mientras-berlin-se-opone-1156739160.html