At Markus Lanz (ZDF), Sahra Wagenknecht describes the traffic light as “dilettantenstadl”. The left-wing politician doesn’t think much of the sanctions against Russia.
Hamburg – Is Germany making a meaningful contribution with the economic sanctions – for Germany? In her controversial speech in the Bundestag, Sahra Wagenknecht described the traffic light coalition as “the stupidest government in the world” and she also stands by this statement with Markus Lanz (ZDF): Of course, the Ukraine war should be condemned as a crime, but the German measures cut a lot too deep in your own flesh. In her eyes, Vladimir Putin is not to blame, but “that the Economics Minister has no idea what he is doing.”
Gazprom is making record profits, Putin has more income than before and in Germany prices are skyrocketing. The level of suffering in your own country is “massive enough and terrible,” explains Sahra Wagenknecht: “People who have a normal income – who have a low income – they despair when they see their bills.” The left-wing politician therefore does not think much of the sanctions against Russia. “We’re not helping Ukraine by wrecking our own economy.” She points to Turkish President Recep Erdogan, whom she considers “a pretty intolerable figure” but who was clever enough to negotiate the grain shipments that the ships have since returned drive. Other governments “look more to what is useful for their country” than Germany. “Putin does not have the power to destroy prosperity in Germany,” she says, and the German government will do that.
Markus Lanz (ZDF): Sahra Wagenknecht as a “perfect victim of Russian propaganda”?
Leonid Volkov rolls his eyes: Everything that Sahra Wagenknecht says is, in his eyes, “Putin’s dream.” The sanctions have by no means passed Russia by unnecessarily, even if little of it gets through, because Vladimir Putin has his apparatus under control – he can keep the population small and silent. “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”: That was – in Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity – for years the West with regard to Russia. There were no major consequences in the Georgian war of 2008 or the annexation of Crimea in 2014, so he was sure again this time, “there will be no answer from the West.” Isn’t Sahra Wagenknecht just a “perfect victim of Russian propaganda?” when it demands negotiation, compromise, and “business as usual,” which will eventually culminate in the next war – until Vladimir Putin gets what he wants?
- Markus Lanz from September 20, 2022. The guests of the show:
- Sahra Wagenknecht, left-wing politician
- Kerstin Münstermann, journalist (Rheinische Post)
- Leonid Volkov, Russian opposition figure and adviser to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny
“Russia is a great country with a great history and tradition.” However, the term “Putin understander” is an insult, explains Leonid Volkov. But according to her own statement, the left-wing politician has absolutely “no sympathy for the Russian system: It’s corrupt oligarch capitalism.” To stabilize the country with negotiations.” In addition, she does not want to speak for Russia, but for the people in Germany – with their current concerns about how they can still handle all this. (Tina Waldeck)
