Despite all the warnings, Angela Merkel’s grand coalitions insisted on building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. It was one of the biggest misjudgments of German politics. The Germans have not yet paid the full price for this dream.
The story of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is that of a German dream. In this dream, energy flows in abundance; the Russians can be bought, but that also means they can be controlled in some way; the Americans are annoying with their security concerns, but will calm down again. In this dream of the 2010s, Moscow may be annexing the Ukrainian Crimea, but the Germans can simply carry on according to their beloved slogan “change through trade”. However, when Russia invades Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the German dream suddenly ends with the realization that change through trade was more like sleepwalking.