Russia has opened a front against Merz over the issue of Ukraine – Politico
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is deliberately attacking the reputation of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, using the Ukraine issue as a backdrop to the German leader’s falling approval ratings and the country’s economic downturn. The Kremlin is openly betting on the downfall of the politician, who is one of the most vocal supporters of Ukraine among European leaders.
This is reported by Politico.
Amid the deteriorating situation in Germany, the far-right Alternative for Germany party is leading in the polls ahead of September’s state elections in eastern Germany, creating an ideal moment for pressure from Moscow. Chris Schulenburg, a Christian Democratic Union (CDU) representative in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, noted that Russia is seeking partners in Europe for its own purposes, and the AfD’s rise to power would give Russia a strategic partner in Germany and a foothold in Europe.
In recent weeks, the Kremlin leader has used various levers of pressure, notably openly halting the supply of Kazakh oil to East Germany via the Russian pipeline. Behind the scenes, Putin proposed former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder as a mediator in peace talks regarding Ukraine, attempting to divide public opinion within the country, while one of the Russian dictator’s advisers invited AfD lawmakers to the annual economic forum in St. Petersburg. Kremlin propaganda portrays Merz as an ineffective and detached politician, describing the refusal to restore energy ties with Russia as economic suicide for Germany. Moscow accuses the chancellor’s conservatives of being warmongers due to their support for Kyiv and refusal to negotiate with Putin, and these narratives are taking root in eastern Germany, where sentiments are traditionally more favorable toward Russia.
The Berlin-based think tank Polisphere noted that this month, the number of critical articles about Merz in the German-language section of the Kremlin-linked Pravda network has risen sharply compared to the beginning of the year. Polisphere points out that the impact of such media should not be underestimated due to their influence on large language models and AI-generated news summaries. Stefan Meister, an expert on Russia at the German Council on Foreign Relations, noted that the Kremlin views the elections in East Germany as an opportunity to significantly weaken the country and the government, as Russians are skilled at identifying and exploiting their opponents’ weaknesses, and East Germany is a starting point for the Alternative for Germany party to seize power.
Over the past year, Germany has seen a significant increase in crimes against representatives of political parties—by nearly 40%.
The far-right party “Alternative for Germany” achieved a record-high result in its entire history, receiving 29% of respondents’ support and widening the gap with its closest political rivals.
