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> The EU is now completely dependent on Russian goodwill to power their infrastructure for the next few decades, and have given up all leverage they had to push back on Russian power plays

An important datapoint here is that ex-chancellor Gerhard Schroeder moved on to the board of Nord Stream AG and of Rosneft, after pushing for building the Nord Stream pipelines.

How this didn't get Germans out into the streets, I have no idea.

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Not only that, but it was also his government that took the decision to phaseout all nuclear power.

Oh, that's easy: Many Germans do/did not see Russia as the big bogey the Americans are - especially in times when the US is a less than reliable partner. Those Germans do think that a mutually beneficial partnership can be formed with Russia.

Not using the chance of a German-friendly Russian president (Putin served in East Germany) to deepen that relationship is often considered a blunder of the Merkel years.

There are some rumors (on HN) that Pukin and frau Ribentrop are brother and sister by mother, and that their mother was soviet agent.

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