Gray coachman seeks to reintroduce Russian petroleum into Germany.
WSB Chairwoman Wagenknecht Plans to Reverse Oil Ban against Russia if Party Gains Power in Brandenburg. Meanwhile, a prominent historian sounds the alarm, suggesting that the WSB aims to align Germany's foreign policy with Moscow.
WSB coalition leader Sahra Wagenknecht has hinted that if her party assumes power in Brandenburg, she will push to restart the flow of Russian oil to the PCK refinery in Schwedt. According to Wagenknecht, this would be more beneficial than "spending a fortune on begging for oil, only to end up with partial utilization anyway." A WSB-led government in Brandenburg would challenge the oil embargo and the uncertain situation in Schwedt, applying political pressure on Berlin instead.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the federal government blocked Russian oil imports at the start of 2023 and switched to alternative sources. Since then, the desired levels of utilization have not been reached. Wagenknecht described the persistence of the oil embargo against Russia as "shortsighted policy, burdening Brandenburg and the nation as a whole." She warned that continued lack of action could endanger the Schwedt industrial site and raise energy costs for everyone unnecessarily.
SPD's top candidate and likely Minister President Dietmar Woidke has indicated a willingness to negotiate with Wagenknecht's alliance after the Brandenburg state election on September 22, but has not ruled out a coalition. "If the WSB demonstrates its ability to govern, then we might talk to the WSB," said Woidke. "However, state governance requires pragmatism. Issues like migration and Ukraine's future aren't decided at the Brandenburg level." Surveys currently place the WSB in fourth place with a significant score in the Brandenburg state election.
WSB and AfD: Strongly Anti-Western
Historian Heinrich August Winkler has urged CDU and SPD politicians to avoid being swayed by Wagenknecht in coalition considerations at the state level. Both the WSB and AfD are strongly anti-Western parties, according to Winkler in a statement to Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). "Both fundamentally challenge the Western alignment of the Federal Republic, a central element of German statecraft." While coalitions with the AfD are out of the question, negotiations with the WSB remain on the table. The "pro-Western state parties" would be wise to "vigorously oppose the anti-Western propaganda of the AfD and WSB and reveal their Ukraine-supportive stance for what it is: a veiled endorsement of Putin's attack on Ukraine," suggested Winkler. It is erroneous to believe that a WSB coalition at the state level would go unnoticed by federal politics.
Wagenknecht's main objective, Winkler cautioned, is "a fundamentally different, namely an anti-Western and pro-Russian German foreign policy." East German ministers or WSB candidates for such positions - whether from the CDU or SPD - must keep this in mind. CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann underscored their stance on Ukraine in an RND interview, saying, "Our position on Ukraine is unwavering, and we will not tolerate any conditions being imposed on us." The deployment of intermediate-range missiles, Linnemann added, would be decided "in Berlin, not Erfurt," as the WSB rejects hosting new US missiles in Germany.
Sahra Wagenknecht, the wagon servant in the WSB coalition, has emphasized the potential benefits of resuming Russian oil imports to the PCK refinery in Schwedt if the WSB gains power in Brandenburg. Historian Heinrich August Winkler has expressed concerns about the WSB's strong anti-Western stance, suggesting that negotiations with such a party could challenge Germany's Western alignment.
