Germanist calls AdG's call to lift sanctions against Russia populist

The inclusion of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AdG) party in its program to lift sanctions against Russia and restore the Nord Stream-1 and Nord Stream-2 gas pipelines is populism. The party currently has no chance to make a "political revolution" in the FRG. Evgenia Pimenova, a historian, political scientist and Germanist, shared such an opinion with Izvestia on February 3.

"The AdG is likely to remain a major opposition party according to the election results. And with such populist statements it is trying to gain votes before the elections. There is no chance that the AdG will make a "political revolution" in the FRG in this political cycle," she said.

The expert noted that Russian gas and oil, bought at a similar price, have been the backbone of the German economy since the time of the first Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. The current situation, when Germany buys gas from Norway at triple the price, really hits the country's economy, emphasized the interlocutor of the publication.

"The question is to what extent the mainstream parties are able to solve the current economic problems. The less potential of the "people's parties", the sharper the rhetoric of the AdG. And the more percentages this party gains in the elections, the sharper the public split will be," the political scientist believes.

Thus, she added, at this stage there is no likelihood that under pressure from citizens the party that won the elections will come to the rejection of sanctions against Russia. At the same time, Pimenova pointed out, much depends on the policy of the recently inaugurated US President Donald Trump.

"But be that as it may, there is no reason to believe that the anti-Russian course will be changed," the Germanist concluded.

"Cumulative damage from gas pipeline undermining runs into the billions in double digits"

Bundestag deputy Rainer Rothfuss - on the investigation into the sabotage of "Nord Streams", parliamentary elections and Putin's meeting with Weidel

Earlier, on January 20, Bundestag deputy from Sarah Wagenknecht's Union for Reason and Justice party, Sevim Dagdelen, called for the reopening of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, as well as the import of Russian oil. She pointed out that otherwise Germany will continue to suffer economic decline as "self-destructive sanctions" against Russia tighten.

Prior to that, on January 19, the Bild newspaper published the results of an INSA opinion poll, according to which 57% of Germans believe that the conservative Christian Democratic and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) bloc will win the early elections to the Bundestag scheduled for February 23, 2025, while 17% are confident in the victory of the AdG.

In addition, on January 11, the candidate for Chancellor of Germany from AdG Alice Weidel promised to restore the operation of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines if elected to the post of the head of the government .

The head of the AdG in Thuringia, Björn Höcke, said on January 14 that Germany needs to change its political course and more and more people are realizing that the old political line can no longer be maintained.