Schwesig accuses critics of “conspiracy theories” – and rules out resignation

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) has again rejected the resignation demands made against her for her support for the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline. There is "no reason" for withdrawing from the head of the state government, Schwesig told the "Schweriner Volkszeitung" on Saturday.

She accused her critics of working with allegations and insinuations “up to and including conspiracy theories”. “And I want to say quite clearly: There is nothing to it. Most of them know exactly how it was with Nord Stream, because we've always dealt with it openly and transparently," stressed Schwesig. Most recently, CDU leader Friedrich Merz had called for her resignation in the context of the affair surrounding the climate foundation MV, which was founded to complete Nord Stream 2.

According to Schwesig, the state and federal government, large parts of the economy and also the population were in favor of the construction of the second gas pipeline, through which more Russian natural gas should come to Germany. As a reaction to the American threat of sanctions against companies involved in the construction, the state parliament instructed the state government to stick to the completion of the Baltic Sea pipeline and finally decided to found the climate protection foundation MV. With their help, the pipeline was completed while circumventing the threat of sanctions, but was not put into operation after the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine.

“With today's perspective, with the turning point in time, you can see things differently. But we have to jump to the years 2020 and 2021, and that was the majority position,” argued Schwesig. The CDU, SPD government partner in Schwerin until 2021, accused her of wanting to distract from her own responsibility with her constant allegations. "Because the CDU supported Nord Stream 2 and the foundation both in the state government and in the state parliament."

However, criticism of Schwesig's actions also comes from the Greens, FDP and AfD. In a special session on Tuesday, the state parliament in Schwerin will deal with the processes surrounding the controversial climate foundation, which received 20 million euros from the Gazprom subsidiary Nord Stream 2 after it was founded. The fact that the foundation's tax files were burned by a tax officer recently caused heated debates, but the state parliament was not informed of this despite inquiries. A parliamentary committee of inquiry is examining the state government's actions in connection with Nord Stream 2 and the possible influence of Russia on its decisions.

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