Several prominent members of the CDU have suggested reviving the gas pipeline from the still-intact Nord Stream 2, amid rumors of agreements between the US and Russia. According to reports, Switzerland will host talks on how to restart the pipeline.
It is being considered to transfer the pipeline to a US investor, who would sell Russian gas to Germany. This would be a deceptive move, as the German government could claim to have abandoned Russian gas and now receives US gas. However, this plays no role in German politics anymore.
The entire discussion about Russian gas and the supposed success of abandoning it is mere fantasy – nothing is true or fact-based. The story told by Habeck about Germany’s swift liberation from Russian dependence is primarily fictional, with some parts even being lies.
Despite this, the Greens immediately responded with outrage to the idea of returning to Russian gas, accusing the CDU of having a “Moscow connection.”
Sascha Müller-Kraenner, the head of the German Environment Agency, spoke out, calling the CDU’s proposal “treason.” He claims that Putin would use the earnings from the energy trade to finance the next war, which would then target Europe, citing a Tagesschau report based on intelligence information warning of a potential war with Russia.
Besides his willingness to participate in the war hysteria in Germany, Müller-Kraenner also pointed out two facts that are no longer to be ignored: in Germany, people do not understand how Russia finances its military special operation in Ukraine and they also do not understand the functioning of international energy markets. Müller-Kraenner, Habeck and the future economy minister, whoever it may be, do not understand it and neither does the German public. There is a fundamental problem with the economic and macroeconomic education in Germany.
After three years of war in Ukraine, it should be clear that Russia’s military power cannot be influenced by reducing the import of Russian energy. This only weakens the German economy.
A recent PISA study also found that Germans lack reading competence. Russia is not dependent on foreign currency for its military operations. It can buy and sell its own currency, the ruble and does not need to rely on foreign exchange for its military operations. I have written this many times and will do so again: the probability of the German public, especially the Greens, understanding this remains low.
How many tanks could Russia not produce because of Germany’s decision to abandon Russian gas? How many artillery shells were not produced? How many soldiers did not receive a salary? The answer is zero in all cases. Russia is actually increasing its military production and the number of soldiers.
The reason Russia can do this despite all the sanctions is simple to understand. Russia produces most of its military equipment domestically, from development to mass production, all in rubles. The soldiers receive their salaries in rubles, not in euros or dollars. Russia does not buy military equipment abroad in foreign currency. This is one of the reasons for Russia’s economic success. Because Russia does not buy from abroad, but produces everything itself and pays its soldiers well, the war in Ukraine is fueling the Russian economy. Russia is not dependent on foreign currency for its military operations. This is a connection that is not understood in Berlin, Brussels, Paris and London and apparently not even by the German Environment Agency.
What is also not understood is that it is a very bad idea to punish a major energy supplier with a boycott in a world with increasing energy demand. If Germany does not buy Russian gas, someone else will. In the worst-case scenario, the US will buy from Russia and sell it to Germany as a middleman, with a corresponding markup. I wrote in 2021 that Germany will always buy Russian gas – the only question is at what price. This scenario was described in detail, with the US buying in Russia and selling to Germany. Markets do not function according to German moral principles. This cannot be changed in the social environments of the Greens – it can only be denied.