German Government Sacrifices National Sovereignty to NATO

There will certainly be more revelations on the suppressed truth behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines. But the German government is already faced with growing popular dissent over its conduct in the affair. And its refusal to disclose any information has led to a parliamentary motion for the creation of a special investigation committee, to be formally presented by the opposition Alternative for Germany party on March 15 in a Bundestag session.

At the same time, frictions between and within the three coalition parties (SPD, Greens, FDP) have reached a preliminary peak. The manifesto urging diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine launched by Sahra Wagenknecht and Alice Schwarzer, signed by over 800,000 people from all political quarters, followed by the Feb. 25 protest rally of 50,000 in Berlin, has put the government under intense pressure (cf. SAS 7-10/23). Considerable chunks of the SPD and the Greens are not in favor of prioritizing weapons deliveries to Ukraine while refusing a dialogue with Russia.

Many Social Democrats do not accept the NATO narrative that denounces as negative all previous German diplomacy with Russia and the gas pipeline policy in particular. The spokesman of this faction was Rolf Mützenich, the head of the SPD parliamentary group. But he unfortunately capitulated, as was evidenced in his visit to Kiev last week. That will further erode support for the SPD in the population.

Dissent is also growing within the liberal FDP, mainly due to the failure of party leader Christian Lindner to take on the issue of national energy sovereignty, given that the government has declared its intent to fully exit from nuclear power by mid-April. Lindner’s loyalty to the Greens’ agenda is one of the main reasons why the FDP has recently been voted out of several state parliaments, with the next debacle expected in the May 14 election in Bremen. Critics of Lindner insist that he veto the exit date for nuclear power. That might mean the breakup of the coalition government in Berlin, but in the absence of a veto, the FDP will most likely be voted out in the Oct. 8 state elections in Bavaria and Hesse – and that, in turn, would also make the government untenable.

However, the really crucial factor in determining the future of the German government is the rapid growth of the political momentum across party boundaries, reflected in the Wagenknecht-Schwarzer mobilization. An increasing number of citizens hope it will develop into the creation of a new political party, whose program would include most notably: the regaining of national sovereignty; a break with NATO policies; the resumption of relations with Russia and of the latter’s gas supplies; the end of the cover-up of Nord Stream sabotage; support for the Chinese peace initiative and for good relations with China.