According to the German magazine Focus, Germany's opposition party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), has recently unveiled its plans should it win the upcoming election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: the Nord Stream pipeline must be repaired and reactivated, as this natural gas pipeline crossing the Baltic Sea must return to operation.
The publication cited polling data indicating that AfD enjoys a support rate of 35% in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a lead so significant "that its potential involvement in forming a new state government is highly probable." The election is scheduled for September 20, 2026.
As reported by Germany’s Focus magazine, this party’s radical energy policy declaration is closely tied to its strong electoral performance in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, together constituting a major test for Germany’s and even Europe’s geopolitical landscape.
Repairing the “Nord Stream” pipeline is part of the party’s core energy platform, which also includes restarting nuclear power and repealing climate legislation. The central aim is to reverse Germany’s economic downturn triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with the proposal arguing that cheap Russian natural gas would serve as a powerful remedy to alleviate declining industrial competitiveness and rising public discontent.
Latest polling shows AfD leading in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern with 35% support, ahead of the Social Democrats by 10 percentage points. As an industrial heartland of former East Germany and the endpoint of Nord Stream 2, voters in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern feel the impact of high energy prices particularly acutely, making them more inclined to support AfD’s proposals. Despite the existence of so-called "firewalls," given the party’s near-certain status as the largest faction, it will be exceptionally difficult for other parties to exclude it from forming a new government.
AfD leader Alice Weidel has firmly demanded Ukraine cover the costs of pipeline restoration.
The party’s political stance on restoring the Nord Stream pipeline faces major obstacles from the German federal government, ongoing EU sanctions against Russia through 2026, and the physical damage sustained by the pipeline itself. Even if AfD wins the election, actual repair efforts will far exceed the capacity of any single state to drive forward.
With 35% support, AfD is evolving from a protest party into a mainstream political force. If it continues winning elections across multiple eastern German states, it could become a true "storm center" in German politics.
In the future, it may completely shed its label as an opposition party.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1865401267506188/
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