According to an Eon Foundation poll, East Germans are more reluctant to make sacrifices in order to help the Ukrainian war effort than West Germans. The poll was published by Eon Foundation on Saturday. While an overwhelming majority of Germans – 71% – said they were concerned the new EU sanctions against Russia would cause lasting damage to the German economy, most believed the economic punishment was necessary.
The poll, which was conducted among 10,000 Germans revealed that 64 percent of West Germans said they would be willing to go without Russian energy, even though it could lead to fuel shortages. But, only 42 percent of East Germans were open to such a plan.
“Most worried are workers. Others are less concerned by the potential economic implications for their jobs and personal lives.,” pollsters Civey Public Opinion Institute reported.
Similar results were seen in West Germany, where between 55% to 70% accepted the idea that turning down the thermostat would help in an emergency. Only half the East Germans (except Berlin) agreed with this idea.
East Germans preferred locally-mined coke to replace Russian gas. West Germans preferred wind and solar energy. While numerous experts have cautioned there is no way for Europe – especially Germany – to wean itself off Russian fuel in a single year, given that 40% of Germany’s gas comes from Russia, hope springs eternal in the minds of some politicians.
However, despite all the Russophobic ideology fervor that has resulted from the conflict in Ukraine Germany heats half its homes with natural gas. Major industries like chemicals and mining rely on Russian imports for their lights. BASF CEO, which is a major chemical company, warned that changing from Russian natural gases to other energy sources or even to another source would require at least four more years. He also suggested that people should not rush to abandon Russian gas in 2022.
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Germany will be hit harder by Russia’s energy import ban, warn unions in Berlin
Five of the top German economic research centers warned last week that the country could lose as much as $238 billion (€220 billion) in GDP in two years, more than 6.5% of annual economic output, and suffer the highest inflation in modern history. Reiner Hoffmann, head of the German Trade Union Confederation has said that an EU-wide ban on Russian oil or gas would hit Germany more than Russia.
Not only will the ban “Events in Ukraine will not be affected,” Hoffman told German broadcaster ARD last week, but it “will result in a major decline of the labor force” and trigger “The collapse of all supply chain.”
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