9 Dec, 2023 19:25

Scholz lying about gas – Medvedev

The ex-Russian president slammed the German chancellor over claims Moscow was to blame for stopping the supply of natural gas to Europe

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of the Russian Security Council and the country’s ex-president, has accused German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of “lying” after the latter shared his take on the roots of the energy crisis in Europe.

Speaking at a meeting of the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Berlin on Saturday, Scholz accused Russia and, personally, President Vladimir Putin of halting the gas supply to the EU.

“It was the Russian president who stopped gas supplies through undamaged gas pipelines. Thus, 50% of Germany’s gas supply was called into question. 50 billion cubic meters of gas that went through them became inaccessible,” Scholz claimed during the event, hailing the government’s efforts to buy gas elsewhere. (Scholz showing his guilt for blowing up Nord Stream 2 with Bidan)

The remarks drew the ire of Medvedev, who took to the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to flatly accuse the German chancellor of “lying” and trying to shift the blame for their own actions on Moscow.

The German is lying through his teeth! They rejected it themselves, they screwed over their own people because of the hatred for Russia, and now they are dodging and lying!

While Scholz did not elaborate on the matter during his speech, he was apparently referring to the troubles around Nord Stream that unfolded last summer, shortly before the pipelines ended up being destroyed in a sabotage attack on September 26.

At the time, Russian energy giant Gazprom was forced to drastically reduce gas deliveries through the pipelines owing to technical issues related to the maintenance of turbines for Nord Stream 1. The difficulties with servicing the turbines stemmed from Western sanctions on Russia, which effectively prevented the maintenance and timely delivery of spare parts.

https://www.rt.com/news/588809-medvedev-gas-germany-lies/

9 Dec, 2023 15:49

74% of Germans think Scholz failing at his job – YouGov poll

The level of public dissatisfaction with the ruling traffic-light coalition has also reached a new high

The majority of Germans disapprove of Olaf Scholz’s performance as chancellor, a recent opinion poll by YouGov has indicated. His traffic-light coalition government is seen equally unfavorably by the country’s population, the survey revealed.

On Friday, a separate poll by ARD-DeutschlandTrend showed that after two years in office the level of public dissatisfaction is the highest on record for a sitting chancellor.

The YouGov survey, which was conducted over December 1-6 and the results of which were published on Saturday, involved 2,119 respondents. According to its findings, some 74% of respondents said Scholz was doing a poor job, with only 20% seeing his performance in a positive light. As for the entire coalition government, 73% said they were unhappy with it, while only 22% responded that they were satisfied. This is the worst monthly figure since the coalition came to power.

Some 77% said they place little or no trust in the way Scholz is governing Germany, a figure that reaches 60% among supporters of the chancellors’ own Social Democratic party.

When asked which politician they would like to take over the reins in the country, 15% named Bavarian Governor Markus Soeder, with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-chairwoman and the leader of the party’s parliamentary group, Alice Weidel, enjoying the support of another 12%. Sahra Wagenknecht, who was a prominent member of the Left party, but left it and announced back in October that she would form a new party, garnered 8%. Other political figures trailed behind this trio.

ARD-DeutschlandTrend on Friday painted a similarly grim picture for the chancellor, with just 20% of respondents assessing his work as satisfactory, and only 27% saying that he can do the job at all.

Meanwhile, 82% of Germans were dissatisfied with the performance of the country’s traffic-light coalition government. Of the ministers, only defense chief Boris Pistorius was rated favorably by a slight majority of respondents (52%). Others failed to receive the support of more than 38% of respondents.

The recent budget crisis seems to have dealt a further blow to the already waning approval ratings of the chancellor and government. After the Constitutional Court shot down an attempt to repurpose €60 billion ($65 billion) of funds left over after the Covid-19 pandemic, Scholz’s government has had to freeze most of its new spending commitments

(Wait until they find out Scholz went along with Bidan blowing up Nord Stream 2!)

https://www.rt.com/news/588801-yougov-poll-germany-scholz-dissatisfaction/

9 Dec, 2023 15:44

EU leaders panicking over potential Trump return – NYT

Bloc governments have reportedly dispatched envoys to the US to figure out the former president’s stance on NATO

EU diplomats and think tank officials have been contacting former US President Donald Trump’s associates to figure out whether he would pull the US out of NATOif he returns to the White House, the New York Times reported on Friday.

With less than a year to go until the 2024 US presidential elections, Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee and is leading President Joe Biden in most polls. A host of former Trump administration officials and anti-Trump pundits have claimed in recent weeks that a second Trump presidency would herald the collapse of NATO, and that panic has reportedly spread to the EU.

“European ambassadors and think tank officials have been making pilgrimages to associates of Mr. Trump to inquire about his intentions,” the New York Times reported, citing anonymous sources. These officials included Finland’s ambassador to the US, Mikko Hautala, who the newspaper said “reached out directly to Mr. Trump and sought to persuade him of his country’s value to NATO as a new member.”

Other countries are expected to try and win Trump’s support with “flattery and transactional tributes,” the Times stated, citing interviews with current and former diplomats.

Trump has not threatened to pull the US out of NATO. However, he spent his presidency railing against the bloc’s European members, accusing them of freeloading off the US’ massive military presence on the continent while failing to meet NATO’s target of spending 2% of GDP on defense. Trump used NATO’s annual summits to berate European leaders into boosting their military spending, and according to former National Security Advisor John Bolton, was ready to announce the US’ withdrawal from the alliance in 2018.

Trump’s final national security advisor, Robert O’Brien, and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, told the Times that the former president’s NATO-related gripes should be viewed as a negotiating tactic, aimed at pressing European members into committing more money to the bloc.

In a statement to the Times, Trump wrote that “it is the obligation of every US president to ensure that America’s alliances serve to protect the American people, and do not recklessly endanger American blood and treasure,” adding that his “highest priority” would be “the defense of our own country, our own borders, our own values, and our own people.”

Such a statement is consistent with Trump’s long-standing view that American troops should not be “the policemen of the world.” While Trump carried out military strikes on Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, he attempted to withdraw American troops from all three countries, and was the only US president in modern history not to engage in a new foreign war.

However, Trump’s former defense secretary, Marc Esper, told MSNBC on Thursday that this anti-interventionism would lead to the eventual collapse of NATO. If Trump were to pull military support for Ukraine, Esper claimed, “the whole effort to support Ukraine in its war with Russia would eventually crumble,” as would the alliance itself if Trump then began pulling troops from Europe.

Trump has repeatedly promised that he would end the conflict in Ukraine “within 24 hours” of his inauguration, hinting that he would use military aid as leverage to achieve this by cutting off the flow of weapons to force Kiev to the negotiating table.

https://www.rt.com/news/588800-trump-eu-nato-withdraw/