Around a third of Germans believe that former German Chancellor Angela Merkel should offer a public apology for her failed energy policy due to Germany’s reliance on Russian gas.
A total of 32 per cent of Germans said they agreed that former Chancellor Merkel should publicly apologise for her energy policies that led to German having such a reliance on Russian natural gas, according to a new survey.
Supporters of the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) are the most likely to demand an apology from the former German leader, with 52 per cent of AfD supporters backing the idea. Around a third of the supports of the Greens also support a formal apology, German tabloid Bild reports.
Germany is currently facing an energy crisis as the Nord Stream 1 pipeline was closed due to maintenance and although it will reopen this week, it is expected to only be operating at around 30 per cent capacity.
According to Bild, the German federal government has set a target of 40 per cent capacity in order for the country to avoid gas shortages during the upcoming winter.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump criticised former Chancellor Merkel’s energy policy in 2018, stating that the country was too reliant on Russian gas supplies.
“The former Chancellor of Germany is the head of the pipeline company that’s supplying the gas… Germany is totally controlled by Russia — they will be getting 60-70 per cent of their energy and a new pipeline… I think it’s not [appropriate] and it’s a very bad thing for NATO…. I think we have to talk to Germany about that.,” Trump said during a NATO conference.
Russia cutting off the gas supply to Germany could also lead to severe economic harm, with a June report claiming that Germany could lose as much as 200 billion euros if the supply of Russian gas is halted and the national economy could shrink by as much as 12.7 per cent.