Chancellor's candidate of the Alternative for Germany (afD), Ms. Alice Weidel, said that the AfD wants to restore the Nord Stream gas pipeline. "We will put Nord Stream back into operation," NTV quoted Weidel as saying.
Ms. Alice Weidel made this statement at the AfD Federal Convention in Riesa, Saxony. Also at the federal congress, Ms. Alice Weidel emphasized that the AfD wants to "dismantle all wind power plants" and restore the operation of nuclear power plants. The party also called for expanding the operation of coal-fired power plants in Germany.
About 55% of Germany's natural gas resources were imported from Russia before the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022. The majority of this gas is transported via the Nord Stream pipeline.
The decision to stop energy imports from Russia, along with the green policy of Prime Minister Olaf Scholz's government, has led to a spike in electricity prices in Germany, forcing some of the country's major manufacturing groups - including Volkswagen and BASF - to close factories and lay off workers.
The AfD is not the only German party to seek to repair and reopen Nord Stream. The left-wing Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) has also called for the pipelines to return to operation. Last week, lawmaker Sevim Dagdelen called for the gas pipelines to be put into operation and the German government to stop funding Ukraine.
German people will vote to elect a new government on February 23. AFP reported that the AfD is second in the polls for the German general election scheduled to take place next month, with an average support rate of 20%. The CDU/CSU Conservative Party is leading with 31% while Prime Minister Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party is competing for third place with the Green Party alliance partners, with support rates of 15% and 14%, respectively.
The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines were built by Russian gas giant Gazprom to transport 110 billion cubic meters of gas to Germany and other European countries each year. However, Nord Stream 2 has never been put into operation because Germany refused to certify the pipeline to be put into operation just days before the Russian campaign in Ukraine began in February 2022. Meanwhile, the Nord Stream pipeline was closed by Gazprom in the summer of 2022.
Three of the four branches of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipeline systems were blown up on September 26, 2022. Investigations into the Nord Stream sabotage have so far not found the culprit. In early 2024, Denmark and Sweden announced that they had completed the investigation into the Nord Stream explosion. International media reported that a group of Ukrainian private sabotage is suspected of being the culprit behind the blast.
