Manuela Schwesig, the prime minister of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (where Nord Stream 2 was built) has dropped her support for the pipeline, admitting for the first time that her longstanding advocacy of the controversial project was a mistake.
At a press conference after several weeks of sick leave, Schwesig welcomed Germany’s halt to the Nord Stream 2 project in February. While the project seemed like a good idea in the past, that position has now been proven wrong.
Schwesig, a leading figure in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party, has long been one of the most vocal supporters of the Russia-Germany pipeline.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where Nord Stream 2 ends, not only benefited from the jobs and investments brought by the construction of the pipeline, but also received €20 million directly from Nord Stream 2 via a controversial so-called “climate foundation”. To have facilitated the transfer of Russian lobby funds.
This foundation was also a mistake, said Schwesig. “I made that mistake too,” she added.
Economically, scientifically and culturally, the region has always been closely linked to Russia. “I stand by that,” said Schwesig, adding that Putin has now “destroyed this relationship with his brutal war of aggression.”
