coal and guns turn against Germany

In the German town of lutzerathin the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, noise from demolition machines is interspersed with the cries of thousands of climate activists. Some have been entrenched for years in this small village that houses a large brown coal mine, one of the most polluting types. Others have flocked to the site in recent weeks to protest against the plan to RWEone of the largest power companies in the country, to demolish the houses and farms in the area and expand the Garzweiler II minewhich extends, in the open sky, along 35 kilometers.

Protesters hanging from a bridge, riot gear sinking in the mud while they try to clear the area or hooded climbing the posts and hiding in tunnels are some of the images that have gone around the world since Lützerath. The situation is tense, but it is far from new.

After years of legal battles, in 2013, the German courts ruled that the company could exploit the area, even if it meant relocate hundreds of people. Later in 2017 the residents were evicted. Instead, dozens of environmental activists set up shop in tents and tree houses.

With the arrival of The Greens to power after the last elections, many expected the expansion of the mine to come to a standstill. Especially since the coalition agreement that unites social democrats, greens and liberals prioritizes, at least on paper, the decarbonization of the economy.

Far from that, in October 2022 the Government reached an agreement with RWE whereby the company was allowed to demolish the town and access the deposit in exchange for advancing the phase-out of coal from 2038 to 2030.

[Lo que Europa espera y teme del nuevo Gobierno semáforo alemán capitaneado por Scholz]

Environmental activists argue that the expansion will only will increase greenhouse gas emissions. The environmentalist formation, on the other hand, sells it as a lesser evil. “It is not something I am proud of, but it is inevitable because the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has started a war and we are facing an energy crisis,” acknowledged the German Minister of Economy and Climate, Robert Habeck. .

The Merkel legacy

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has completely changed Germany’s energy needs. Already in summer, the realpolitik hit the tripartite squarely. After the Russian gas company Gazprom temporarily cut off the flow of gas, the government led by Chancellor Olaf Schölz He was forced to increase the burning of coal – a fuel that he promised to abandon before 2030. He then postponed the blackout of the last active nuclear power plants.

this unexpected energy policy shiftthe motor of protests such as that of Lützerath, represent a review of the legacy of the former Christian Democratic chancellor Angela Merkel. Politics retired at the end of 2021 after 16 years at the head of a country that managed to become the main economic engine in Europe after the crisis.

The problem is that she achieved it at the expense of betting on the transport of gas through pipelines from Russia because, as she herself acknowledged in an interview, “it was cheaper than liquefied gas from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates or USA”.

After Putin illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, Merkel approved the construction of the controversial Russian-German gas pipeline Nord Stream II. Now, this strategic decision to increase Russia’s energy dependence is taking its toll on Germany: it turns it into Europe’s weak link.

turn in defense

Putin’s war has been a turning point in all fields. In February, just days after Russian tanks began rolling into the Ukraine, Scholz announced an extraordinary €100 billion stipend to upgrade the German Army. He also promised an increase in annual investment in Defense of more than 2% of GDP. This 160 degree turn in defense policy and German security was preceded by the also historic shipment of weapons to Ukraine.

However, the German government is having problems also managing the “change of era”“. This same Monday, the German Defense Minister, the Social Democrat christine lambrechtpresented her resignation after numerous oversights that have placed her at the center of controversy.

[El difícil desembarco de la ‘heredera’ de Merkel en el Ministerio de Defensa]

As soon as he took office, he admitted not knowing the ranks or the maneuvers of the army or military expenses. Later, her 21-year-old son published images uploaded to a military helicopter, which awoke criticism within his party.

In these months, moreover, Germany’s defense capabilities have been called into question after a series of “unprecedented problems” such as the failure of several Puma infantry tanks during a military exercise. The icing on the cake, however, was when on New Year’s Eve, through an Instagram video, Lambrech talked about the war in Ukraine with artificial noise in the background.

However, his decision to resign comes at a time when Germany is under pressure to approve a raise of international military support for kyiv.