AfD Seeks to Reactivate Nord Stream and, With It, German Industry

“The German party AfD wants to reactivate the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which run under the Baltic Sea to Russia. A policy document from the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag—currently meeting in Cottbus—states: ‘We will continue to diversify our gas and oil supplies in Germany’s interest, avoid creating new import dependencies, and enable the activation of existing supply routes, such as the Nord Stream pipeline.’

 

Nord Stream 1 and 2, built to transport Russian gas to Germany, were severely damaged in September 2022 by explosive charges. To date, there are no plans to repair them—let alone put them back into operation. Russian gas previously flowed to Germany through Nord Stream 1; Nord Stream 2 had not yet been commissioned.

 

Since events in Ukraine, Germany and the European Union have sought to weaken Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin through sanctions. Selling gas via Nord Stream would generate revenue for Russia.

 

In Support of Coal and Gas

 

In addition to reactivating Nord Stream, the AfD—which is classified by German domestic intelligence as a ‘partly right-wing extremist’ group—also seeks to reactivate nuclear energy within Germany. Furthermore, the party rejects a transition away from fossil fuels; according to the AfD parliamentary group’s platform, coal and gas are to remain in use.

 

Moreover, the party’s lawmakers aim to eliminate subsidies for wind and solar energy and repeal a number of laws. These include the Renewable Energy Sources Act, the Grid Expansion Acceleration Act, the Climate Protection Act, and the Wind Energy Area Requirements Act.” These laws were introduced in Germany with the aim of protecting the climate.

 

The AfD branch in Saxony-Anhalt intends to use a two-day congress to draft an election manifesto for the regional parliamentary elections—the *Landtag*—taking place in September. The party hopes to secure an absolute majority and, for the first time, form a government on its own in one of Germany’s federal states. Current polls show it enjoying support of around 39 percent.”

 

No surprise that the support is so high. The AfD suggested policies are the only possibility to save German industry.