Merz, Weidel Clash in Bundestag Over Russia Policy, Energy Crisis

(MENAFN) Chancellor Friedrich Merz and AfD co-leader Alice Weidel traded sharp attacks in the German parliament Wednesday, sparring over Berlin's stance on Russia and the country's energy supply.

Weidel accused Merz's government of stoking "war propaganda" and needless confrontation with Moscow, charging that the break from Russian energy supplies had triggered an energy crisis. "You are burning the very last bridges—all to distract attention from your own disastrous political track record. Finally, advocate for peace negotiations, just as the US is doing," she told the chancellor directly.

She further laid the blame for a prolonged energy crisis at the government's feet, linking it to Germany's broader energy transition, and cautioned that an "existential gas supply crisis" could hit this winter now that Berlin has abandoned cheap Russian pipeline gas.

"You stood by wordlessly and idly while the Nord Stream pipeline was blown up in front of your noses," Weidel said. Rather than working to restore deliveries through the pipeline's surviving sections, she argued, the government "continues to reward the suspected masterminds of the attack in Kyiv with billion payments at Germany's expense."

Merz fired back forcefully, framing support for Kyiv as a defense of European security and accusing the AfD of inverting the roles of aggressor and victim.

"We support Ukraine, and we will continue to support it, because it is also defending our freedom, here in the heart of our European continent as well," he said.

"No one, no one has threatened Russia — not NATO, not the EU, not Germany," Merz continued. "The only thing that truly threatens Russia and Putin is the power of democracy's appeal. Ukraine was on the path into the European democratic family, and that is precisely the real danger for Putin's regime in Russia."

He asserted that the AfD understood this reality — and chose to align with Moscow anyway.

Turning to energy policy, Merz said his government was fixing the missteps of the past, cutting reliance on single sources and diversifying supply chains, all while keeping renewable energy at the core of the strategy.

"We will ensure that Germany has a secure energy supply in the future as well — with renewable energies," he said.

He noted that ministers were closely monitoring gas storage levels and staying in contact with energy companies, but cautioned against stoking public panic-buying. "We are receiving clear indications that the energy supply, and gas supply in particular, will remain secure in Germany over the winter, and that is exactly what the federal government's supply strategy is built on," Merz said. "We are not doing this with public theater the way you do, but in a way that is responsible for private households and public budgets."

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