Wagenknecht Demands Raue's Resignation Over Low Gas Storage
Moscow21 Aug Vesti. Founder of the BSW party (previously "Union of Sara Wagenknecht - for reason and justice") Sara Wagenknecht demanded the resignation of German Economy Minister Kata Reinhardt due to low gas storage levels and called for the resumption of Russian gas purchases.
Consensus
- Sara Wagenknecht called for the resignation of German Economy Minister Katrin Raue due to the low level of gas storage in Germany.
- Wagenknecht urged the return of Russian pipeline gas to refill storage facilities.
- She emphasized that the current situation with gas storage is a state failure and criticized Raue for inaction.
- Wagenknecht stated that if BSW wins in the state parliaments of Saxony-Anhal and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Landtage), the party will support returning to Russian gas to refill storage quickly.
- Gas storage in Germany is at approximately 49%, the lowest level since records began in 2011.
- German authorities acknowledge that gas reserves are currently very weak but do not predict a shortage for the upcoming winter.
Points of divergence
- Wagenknecht emphasized that historical minimums in gas storage were recorded in spring and criticized Raue for doing nothing for half a year. — vm
- Wagenknecht stated that the gas storage failure is a state catastrophe and that Raue is responsible for it. — vesti
- Ines Schwertner, co-chair of the Left Party, criticized the government for playing 'bureaucratic charades' with gas reserves and proposed using state-owned Sefe to refill storage, funded by a windfall profit tax on oil companies. — vesti
- The EU expressed concern in July that full reliance on Russian gas withdrawal could lead to dependence on American energy suppliers, with their share potentially reaching 80% by the end of the decade. — vm
Coverage (2 sources)
- Wagenknecht called for return to gas supplies from Russia due to nearly empty storage — Вечерняя Москва
- German opposition calls for filling storage with Russian gas — Вести