German Of The Day: Zwickmühle

To be in the Zwickmuhle is to be in a predicament, to be on the horns of a dilemma.

As in Germany’s neighbors (see Ukraine and Poland) despising the pro-Russian policy it has been following forever, bypassing and ignoring them in the process. The punch line: Now the Germans are surprised, even offended that everyone is so upset about it. But it’s not much of a “dilemma,” if you ask me. It’s quite straightforward, really: The Germans went it alone, yet again, placed all their money on Putin & Co., and lost.

The reason for the rejection (for German President Steinmeier being unwelcome in Ukraine) is clearly Steinmeier’s course in recent years, which Kiev considers too Russia-friendly. As foreign minister, he had, among other things, always pushed for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. “The warnings, it’s true, from our Eastern European partners we should have taken more seriously. Especially as far as the period after 2014 was concerned and the expansion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. And that’s why holding on was certainly a mistake,” Steinmeier had admitted last week. But despite the admission of mistakes and errors: The extent to which Germany’s Russia policy in recent years has caused disquiet and upset in Kiev is only now becoming really clear.

The Steinmeier Formula

Otherwise known as the SPD Formula. It’s quite simple: Take a loaded handgun, point it at your foot, and then fire.

Angela Merkel HERSELF adopted the formula HERSELF. But her “conservative” CDU/CSU was more SPD than the SPD ITSELF so it’s quite understandable why she would have. Sort of.

Ukraine snubs German president over past ‘close ties to Russia’ – Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejects request by Frank-Walter Steinmeier for meeting in Kyiv, Bild reports.

“My sticking to [the Baltic Sea pipeline project] Nord Stream 2, that was definitely a mistake,” he said in Berlin on 4 April. “We held on to bridges that Russia no longer believed in, and of which our partners warned us.”

He added: “We failed to build a common European house. I did not believe Vladimir Putin would embrace his country’s complete economic, political and moral ruin for the sake of his imperial madness.”

Back To The Future

Or is it more like escape to the future? Because your plans aren’t panning out now?

Germany unveils plans to accelerate green energy expansion – The package envisages green energy accounting for 80% of the power mix in Europe’s biggest economy by 2030, up from about 40% now and a previous target of 65%.

Sure. It’s easy to set future deadlines for things you haven’t been able to do yet. The tricky part is setting these deadlines for things you’ll never be able to do. Like creating a Renewable German Green Utopia. Here just a few fun facts that nobody here wants to look at:

  • Renewables in Germany contributed to electricity prices rising 50 percent since 2007. Electricity prices here are 45 percent higher than the European average and the highest in Europe. Now. And in that Brave New Future?
  • Wind and solar renewables are unreliable, requiring 100% backup (you need two expensive energy systems, coal and gas in this case because nuclear is still verboten). They are also energy-dilute, that is, not -dense, meaning they require huge tracts of land, transmission lines, mining, etc.
  • An example: If the U.S. was to generate all the energy it uses with renewables, 25% to 50% of all land in the U.S. would be needed. Today’s energy system needs just 0.5 percent of land in the U.S. (Smil, Power Density: A Key to Understanding Energy Sources and Uses).

In other words, running Germany on renewable energy ain’t never gonna happen.

“Ill-Prepared?”

That’s the nice word for it.

Take Berlin, for instance. Practically all of it’s energy is produced using Russian gas. It took the German government(s) many, many years of hard work and the steadfast disregard of warnings from its partners in the West to become this dependent on Russian gas, coal and oil (50%). Now deal with it. Too bad I’m going to have to live/freeze through it, though. Stock up on warm clothing for next winter while the supplies still last, people!

What if the Gas Is Cut Off? – German Industry Prepares for Worst-Case Scenario – German industry and the government in Berlin are ill-prepared for a possible halt in supplies of natural gas from Russia. A new emergency plan is being developed to prevent an economic meltdown if deliveries cease.

Just Like I Got Everything Else Wrong

Ever. But who cares? I’m just the President of Germany.

I got Putin wrong, says chastened German President – German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, long an advocate of Western rapprochement with Russia, expressed regret for his earlier stance, saying his years of support for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline had been a clear mistake.

Steinmeier, a Social Democrat who served as Foreign Minister under Chancellor Angela Merkel before being elevated to the presidency, said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine meant he and others had to reckon honestly with what they had got wrong.

Is This The Beginning Of The End?

Or the end of the beginning? Or just the start of the next big ugly mess – once Putin turns the gas off.

Germany: G7 rejects Russia’s demand to pay for gas in rubles – The Group of Seven major economies have agreed to reject Moscow’s demand to pay for Russian natural gas exports in rubles.

Payment in ruble is not acceptable, and we will urge the companies affected not to follow (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s demand.”

Now They’re Cancelling The Alphabet

Or z last letter of it, I should say.

What will zhey cancel next?

Two German states ban Russian ‘Z’ symbol – The ‘Z’ symbol used by Russia in the war against Ukraine is banned by two of Germany’s federal states, and more could soon follow as calls to extend the ban to other regions pile up.

Bavaria and Lower Saxony, two of the most populated German regions, have outlawed the public use of the Russian symbol. Anyone showing the symbol publicly or at demonstrations can now face up to three years in prison or a fine.

Castes A Shadow Over Her Party?

But not over her? How convenient. Even that saluting soldier down there can see that something ain’t kosher with her.

Talk about Teflon. But even the Germans will scratch it all off eventually, Mutti. Get those memoires out ASAP!

Merkel’s Legacy on Russia Casts a Shadow over Her Party – Angela Merkel had been fully aware of just how brutal Vladimir Putin could be. She even admitted the Nord Stream 2 pipeline had been a “devil’s project.” But why didn’t she do anything to change Germany’s energy dependence on Russia – and why is her party so quiet about it now?

Grab a pencil and a piece of paper and I’ll explain to you: She systematically bumped off anybody in her party who dared to have an opinion other than hers. See Friedrich Merz, the guy who came back in from the cold to run the party now. They’ll get around to dismantling her eventually, once they’re in power again.

PS: Personally, I think she was a Russian mole. But maybe that’s just me.

Germany Needs More Windmills

And pronto!

But until then, just in case you were wondering:

Germany to continue buying Russian-provided oil, gas, coal – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday again dismissed calls to boycott Russian energy supplies in the wake of the attack on Ukraine.

Scholz said sanctions already imposed on Russia were hitting its economy “and this will only get more dramatic every day.”

At the same time, Scholz said the sanctions were designed to be “tolerable” for those imposing them, including in the long term.

“That is why Germany’s position on this question (of an energy boycott) remains unchanged,” he said.

How Far Is Der Spiegel Willing To Go?

Will “Putin’s Apocalypse” be enough?

Or should they try “Russian racist ideology” and “Russian death camps” first? “World War III” is getting a little tiresome, don’t you think? I just don’t know. It must be tough being a balanced and objective journalist these days.

How Far Is the Russian President Willing To Go? – The West has expressed shock over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. But the Kremlin boss has been speaking openly for years about his vision of a Russian empire. This is the escalation he has been seeking for 20 years.