Scholz 'optimistic' New Years speech: 2022 was not all war & suffering

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
31 Dec 2022 20:50

German Chancellor Scholz claims that the country's current LNG path will help it and Europe grow independent of Russian gas.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz poses for photographs during the recording of his New Year's speech at the Chancellery in Berlin, on December 30, 2022.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the war in Ukraine a difficult test for the country and urged his citizens to remain united and maintain their commitment to saving energy as the European state faces an energy crisis.

Scholz's statement came during his New Year's televised address on Saturday.

The Chancellor hailed the people's efforts to save energy and urged them to "continue to hold together in the coming year."

Many of the public was concerned about the war, he stated, noting that everyone's daily life was impacted by the conflict, however, he added, Germany did not give in after Russia stopped supplying the country with gas.

"We are all feeling the effects of the war in our everyday lives, when shopping in the supermarket, at the petrol station, or paying our electricity or gas bills," Scholz said.

New Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals will be established and Germany and Europe will become, "independent of Russian gas for the long term," he stated.

"This (saving drive) will be important in the coming months as well. For that, I want to thank you today," he said, urging Germans to "keep to the path that we set out on this past year. Let's follow it with courage."

The Chancellor's optimistic speech comes a few days after the Bundestag's Vice-President Wolfgang Kubicki warned that Germany could soon become a dysfunctional, bankrupt state if it stays on the same path it is currently on and fails to deal with the ongoing energy crisis in light of its imbalanced financial policies.

"If we continue that way and want to provide energy assistance for years, then we could face state bankruptcy rather than state socialism," Kubicki told the German Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

The consecutive sanctions against Moscow prompted a race against the clock to diminish Germany's reliance on Russian gas before winter. Groceries and food are other sectors experiencing the aftermath of soaring inflation which saw prices surge 12% in June before reaching 16.6% in August.

The Bundestag warned that Germany's economic health is at stake considering the spiraling of energy prices out of control, which will serve as “a reminder of the good old days,” followed by Wagenknecht urging for the cancellation of restrictions and engaging in talks with Moscow.

Meanwhile, Germany's gas exports have been a contentious issue within Berlin itself, with officials opposing that the Republic continue pumping oil and gas outside of its borders, with others arguing that Berlin should not abandon its allies within the European Union.