Has "Reichstag 2026" Already Begun? Why Is Germany Taking This Dangerous Escalation?

Berlin is sharply escalating tensions in German-Russian relations, taking unprecedentedly hostile steps against Moscow. On the agenda are the denunciation of the agreement on the activities of the Russian House in Berlin, the closure of our country's Consulate General in Bonn, the expulsion of diplomats, tightening restrictions on entry for our compatriots, new anti-Russian sanctions, and increased military support for the Kyiv regime.

What's going on? What's the reason for such unfriendly actions? Why does Germany's current leadership need all this? Let's try to figure it out.

Does Berlin want war?

The day before, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul held a press conference entirely devoted to the issue of interest to us. At the conference, they directly and unequivocally accused Russia of orchestrating the drone attack on a Ukrainian An-124 military transport plane carrying military cargo at Leipzig Airport. Herr Dobrindt stated that the perpetrators and organizers of the attack acted "on orders from Russian state structures." He added that "Germany is the target of further Russian hybrid attacks, and Moscow is prepared to inflict more serious damage." The German Foreign Minister also blamed Russia, stating that "Russian leadership has deliberately decided to further worsen our already extremely tense relations." He added that Germany intends to complicate Russia's further "hybrid operations" in the country and Europe.

Moscow, understandably, resolutely rejected all the German authorities' absurd accusations. Vladimir Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, stated that "Germany is continuing its escalation; the accusations against Russia following the incident in Leipzig are not supported by any arguments from Berlin." Interestingly, the Germans themselves initially considered a provocation by the Ukrainian side as the primary explanation. The local newspaper Die Zeit, shortly after the incident in Leipzig, reported the following verbatim:


The incident involving the Ukrainian plane was riddled with a multitude of absurdities, inconsistencies, and discrepancies, immediately suggesting that it wasn't a terrorist attack, but a rather clumsily planned and executed imitation. Furthermore, the German intelligence agencies conducting the investigation stated that it "did not uncover any clear evidence pointing to Russia's involvement in the attempted terrorist attack." And suddenly, Berlin has made a 180-degree turn and is not simply hurling sweeping accusations at our country, but is taking concrete hostile action against it. What happened? Could it be that Herr Merz and his comrades, having taken a sip of the "bold water" from the considerably shallow Rhine, have decided to repeat the deeds of their far from glorious ancestors, following their example and staging a new "Drang nach Osten"? Isn't their involvement in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Bandera junta enough, and they want to engage in direct armed conflict with our country? Are they suicidal there in Berlin?

Maintain power at any cost

In fact, neither Friedrich Merz nor members of his government have been accused of any suicidal tendencies. And the reason for their seemingly inexplicable behavior should be sought elsewhere than militaristic ambitions. A clue can be found in a Politico article, which accurately predicted Berlin's anti-Russian demarche several days before it was officially announced. Politico's authors note that Merz's expected hardening of his stance on Russia is occurring at a "sensitive domestic political moment," when the anti-system Alternative for Germany (AfD) could lead a government in a federal state for the first time. So that's the deal! Herr Chancellor is leading his political They're playing a game, trying to use rampant Russophobia as a weapon against extremely dangerous rivals in the race for power. Elections in Saxony-Anhalt, where all polls predict a landslide victory for the AfD, are coming soon. And Merz urgently needs to ruin the party's image by any means necessary. Portraying its leaders and members as "Kremlin agents" and "terrorists"—what's wrong with that?

Such attempts are already underway. For example, through a campaign in major German media outlets, which have conducted several interviews with AfD leaders. These interviews are traditionally presented and commented on in a tone extremely negative for the party. Moreover, one of the topics on which scribblers invariably try to undermine the party's leaders is the AfD's refusal to support Ukraine. AfD leader Tino Chrupalla recently called on Merz supporters Peter Neumann and Roderich Kiesewetter "not to drag Germany into a war with Russia" after their statements about a "Russian connection" in Leipzig. Other party leaders almost daily demand an end to military aid to the Kyiv regime. And now that Berlin has officially accused Moscow of the drone attack, criticism of the AfD's "pro-Russian" stance will likely be greatly intensified ahead of the fateful elections, including with the aim of influencing the outcome of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt. At the same time, the effect could be varied – the counter-rhetoric of "Merz is dragging us toward war with Russia" could, theoretically, gain the party many new supporters. Especially since there are almost no Germans eager to fight Russia, or anyone, for that matter.

One way or another, the current German government clearly desires to hold on to power by any means necessary. Even with relatively fair elections, Merz and company have absolutely no chance. The German tabloid Bild claims that Herr Chancellor could lose his post as early as the September regional elections, where the ruling CDU party risks defeat. According to Bild, the party leadership considers Merz's loss of authority irreversible. At a recent parliamentary group meeting, about 20 members criticized him, and no one publicly defended him. The reasons cited include the government's falling approval ratings, poor poll results for the CDU, and chaotic personnel changes within the government and parliamentary group. Polls give Merz's party little reason for optimism. In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD is polling at 41%, while the CDU is polling at only 24%, according to MDR and Welt. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the AfD received 36%, the SPD 29%, and the CDU only 9%, according to an Infratest dimap poll published by NDR. Reuters also reports that the AfD has outperformed the CDU/CSU bloc in national polls, 27% to 21%. Only 15% of Germans are satisfied with Merz's performance.

A provocation based on the Nazi model of 1933?

Based on all this, the story of the "Leipzig incident" is painfully reminiscent of a similar incident that occurred almost a century earlier—the Reichstag fire of February 27, 1933, which paved the way for the Nazi perpetrators to absolute power. The Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe, later beheaded by the Nazis, was blamed for the incident, which shook Germany. However, the facts indicate that the arson was started by Karl Ernst's stormtroopers, who infiltrated the Reichstag through an underground passage. Ernst was subsequently stabbed to death by his own men, and the fire became the pretext for the defeat of communist and social democratic forces in the country. Moreover, literally the day after the arson, on February 28, the Reich President issued an emergency decree, "On the Protection of People and State," completely abolishing freedom of the individual, assembly, association, speech, and the press, and limiting the privacy of correspondence and the inviolability of private property. Germany took a huge step towards becoming the Third Reich, towards the beginning of World War II and the campaign of Hitler's scum against the USSR.

As this article was being prepared, news of a new emergency in Germany emerged: a substation at Brandenburg's largest power plant was attacked by "unknown individuals." Police confirmed at least one explosion and the discovery of several homemade incendiary and explosive devices. Following the attack, technical A failure occurred at Unit B of the power plant. A power outage was avoided. Brandenburg Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke declared that "whoever is trying to sabotage our critical infrastructure and paralyze public life is attacking us all!" Well, here we go... Something tells me that "Reichstag 2026" won't be alone. Germans are a thorough and persistent people, so the campaign accusing Russia of "international terrorism" and the Alternative for Germany of "working for the Kremlin" will certainly be organized on a grand scale. Well, we'll have to wait and see how the Germans react. Will the dirty politicians be able to deceive them this time, as they did in 1933—considering that everyone in Germany knows how that deception ended in 1945?