When he signed the 15 year LNG deal with Qatar? They were a big deal here for a few minutes last week.
Don’t the Greens normally love making empty gestures and sending symbolic symbols (Zeichen setzen)? Germany’s Green Economy Minister set two symbols with the deal: 1) We don’t give a damn about the human rights blah blah we claim to give a damn about and 2) Nasty LNG gas may not be green enough for our standards but it’s just green enough to “save the planet,” as long as it saves Germany first – from the catastrophic energy policy the Greens got Germany into in the first place.
German minister satisfied with 15-year Qatar LNG deal – German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Tuesday he was happy with the length of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deal struck with Qatar, as Berlin pursues new energy partnerships after a plunge in gas from Russia.
But if it flows in from places like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar it can buy you lots of support for ultraconservative Salafists and their jihadist ideology.
At least in Germany it can.
Religious organizations from those three countries have been sending preachers to Germany as well as financing the construction of mosques and schools, the German “Süddeutsche Zeitung” newspaper and public service broadcasters NDR and WDR reported. The intelligence reports were conducted on the behalf of the German government…
German authorities have conducted numerous raids nationwide targeting Salafist organizations in recent weeks. In November, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere announced a ban on the Salafist “True Religion” group which was known for passing out a fundamentalist translation of the Koran in German city centers.
Who cares that Qatar funds ISIS terror and revels in exploiting its expatriate slave laborers ahead of the 2022 World Cup (to name just two minor points)? It is also the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). And these days, with Germany’s good buddy Putin getting all uppity about passing his Russian gas (and currently suffering from a 35% Russian gas import addition) LPG looks like the next best drug of choice.
Economic ties remain key to Germany’s relationship with Qatar, one of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ energy-rich members. The partnership increasingly encompasses energy interests, especially in light of the crisis in Ukraine and potential threats to Europe’s gas supplies.
Observing Hermann 