Germany has lost 5% of its GDP due to the consequences of the war in Ukraine, while every citizen is damaged on average with 2,600 euros per year. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Zara Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) propose a return to Russian natural gas as a solution.

According to a survey by the Hans Beckler Foundation on behalf of ARD’s Panorama program, Germans are affected three times more than other Europeans by the energy crisis that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In Sweden each resident is charged 1,700 euros per year, but in Italy only 230 and the average in the EU is around 880 euros. “Germany has structural characteristics that make it particularly vulnerable,” explains Hans Beckler Foundation economist Sebastian Dulien and refers to “a very large industrial sector, which also entails a large energy consumption.” In addition, a large amount of this energy was natural gas from Russia, while, as the economist points out, the German government turned relatively late to natural gas markets, and as a result only found particularly high prices. Production in Germany is now becoming very expensive, is being moved abroad and is declining, as competitors, e.g. USA, can offer cheaper prices. This is directly reflected in the GDP, adds Mr Dulien.

On the occasion of the contraction of the German GDP, the extreme right calls for a return to Russian natural gas, in order to stabilize German industry. AfD energy policy spokesman Stéphane Kotre said “we need Nord Stream 2 to be repaired quickly and then Russian gas can flow again – it’s as simple as that,” while BSW head Zara Wagenknecht emphasized that “there is no realistic alternative at a similar price level.”

At the same time, however, in Austria, which is still supplied with natural gas from Russia, the price for consumers amounts to about 12 cents/kWh, compared to 9 cents in Germany for 2024. With a consumption of 20,000 KWh per year, a German household pays around 1,800 euros, while in Austria 2,400 euros.

Austrian energy company ÖMV’s contract with Gazprom subject to confidentiality and its financial terms are not known. Joel Telgis, responsible for energy at the Vienna Chamber of Labor, told ARD that “all we know is that the contracts are valid until 2040 and Austria will have to pay for the purchase of the gas regardless of whether it ends up using it.” .

Sebastien Dullien expresses serious reservations about whether a return to Russian natural gas would benefit Germany economically. “The issue is not only the current price, but the question, how secure and reliable can the delivery and price of gas be in the future?”, he notes. “The Russians have never let us down,” AfD’s Mr Coutre comments, while Ms Wagenknecht sidesteps the question and counters that the German economy “doesn’t run on sun and wind, so we have to see where we can get natural gas and Russia is for us the only alternative, from a geographical point of view.”

From the industry side reservations are also expressed about returning to Russian suppliers. “We are all in a phase of transformation. We are trying to move away from natural gas – using electricity from 50% to 100%, so that we can then use only renewable energy. So we would like to move away from gas completely,” emphasizes Stefan Mayer, Head of Steelworks in Bochum. His company was forced to operate for five months with limited working hours due to the quintupling of energy prices after August 2022.