Does the gas flow, does it not flow, and if so, how much and for how long? And if not, then what? There have been mixed answers to these questions for weeks, sometimes none at all. It doesn't take much to understand who this helps most - the dictator in the Kremlin, who knows full well that he can wage war not only with soldiers and bombs, but also with two raw materials: gas and fear.
In February, a few days after the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that a turning point was taking place here and now, which must be actively shaped ("national effort"). What, for example – a historical turning point – had to mean that Germany was involved in arms deliveries was not only agreed by the government and large parts of the opposition, but also by most people in the country.
The pictures from the Ukraine were frightening, they were new, war in Europe, many only knew that from stories. The spontaneous sympathy was undoubtedly genuine. But it was also kind of – free. Occasionally, in those early days, someone would say that gas from the aggressor Russia could no longer be accepted. But this remark also initially remained cost-neutral. It took time to agree on sanctions.
Fighting is still going on in Ukraine. Bombs fall on houses, streets, squares, people are murdered. The images have become a habit, and that's dangerous. Compromising is not an option, even when the winter gets cold. Not for politics, and not for each individual.
Perhaps you will have to have the already proverbial sweaters ready and more. It will not be free for all of us to defend freedom this time. All of this is little compared to what people in Ukraine are suffering - and what many more are threatened with if we back down now.
