Over the past couple of months, Germans (especially politicians) have been hyped up over the arrival of President Biden, and getting rid of all these 'problems' with President Trump.
Well....the new reality has hit. Some of these Trump-burdens simply continue on, and the shock is now kind of apparent.
Example? The Nord-Stream II project....the natural gas pipeline that was being laid across the Baltic from the St Petersburg area, and would touch NE Germany. Trump had issues with this, and had sanctions laid out for company that participated. Naturally, this infuriated the Germans. The policy delayed the last 20-percent of the entire project.
Some reference material here. German companies buy around 35-percenet of the country's natural gas from the Russians.....from a pipeline that has existed for around 50 years. The negative on this pipeline....it runs across the Ukraine and has always had political consequences tied into it's use (selling at reduced rates to the Ukraine for example). Trump's basic idea was that he was wanting the Germans to buy 'some' natural gas from the US. No one ever suggested numbers and without a pipeline....it'd have to come via gas-freighters.
The Germans felt the US threat would evaporate with Biden. Well....it didn't happen. He is apparently continuing the threat, but for a different reason....Navalny (the Russian attempting to take down Putin). ARD public TV news does a good explanation on this and it's worth a read.
The reaction by the one company left running the project? Full speed ahead. You have to remember that this was never a country-to-country project.....it was a business-to-business project. Once completed and turned on....there's billions to be made each year.
The likely nature that more Trump issues will simply slide over and become Biden issues? You just simply don't know. For the Germans, it's some sad part about the fantasy that they consumed for four years....that maybe Trump and Biden are reading off the same basic script, with differing reasons.
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