The German far-right party "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) has taken advantage of rising energy prices to call again for the resumption of energy supplies from Russia, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
Gasoline prices in Germany have jumped more than 15% since the start of the Israeli-American military operation against Iran last month, and the AfD's arguments for the resumption of the energy partnership with Russia found favorable ground during local elections this month in the state of Baden-Württemberg, the center of the German car industry.
"That was the defining issue. The main topic during the election campaign was the economy and only the economy," said Markus Frohnmeier, a candidate for prime minister of Baden-Württemberg from the ranks of AfD, which said that energy prices in the country are twice as high as in China or the United States.
"Alternative for Germany" strengthened its position as the second political force in Germany, winning 20% of the vote in Baden-Württemberg and the neighboring state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where the party recorded its best election result ever recorded in a western German state.
"The situation in the German economy is currently very difficult. It is of paramount importance for Germany's energy sovereignty and for affordable electricity that the country imports Russian oil and natural gas again," Frohnmeier stressed.
He pointed out that German politicians should not worry that natural gas supplies to Germany are helping Moscow wage the war in Ukraine.
"We were not elected to represent the national interests of Ukraine," he pointed out Frohnmeier.
The AfD has won the votes of many voters thanks to its strong opposition to mass immigration in recent years, but the party has also recently focused on economic issues.
"People vote for the political party they believe will solve the pressing problems," said Markus Frohnmeier, rejecting arguments that Germany has already managed to secure alternatives to Russian oil and natural gas.
In eastern Germany, where the AfD has a good chance of coming to power in the state of Saxony-Anhalt after one of three state elections, this rhetoric of the German far-right party is expected to gain even more strength.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the abrupt shutdown of the "Nord Stream" pipeline have made Berlin frantically look for alternative energy suppliers, which it has found in the face of Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium. Data from the German National Statistical Office show that, with the exception of indirect imports of small quantities of liquefied natural gas, the country has managed to phase out Russian energy sources.