Leipzig airport attack fallout lays bare Germany’s polarisation on Russia

The government’s increasingly hostile stance towards the Kremlin has drawn criticism from the far right – and the far left Even before the German government laid the blame this week on Russia for an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport , the topic of German ties to Moscow was high on the political agenda. But the timing of the unsurprising yet explosive Leipzig announcement – days before a key regional vote – has exposed the extent to which German politics is polarised on the issue. Leading the polls nationally and in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, which votes this weekend, is the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). The party has repeatedly called for a closer bond with the Kremlin, and crucially, for its cheap oil and gas to flow to Germany once again, despite Moscow’s unrelenting onslaught on Ukraine. Germany is already on tenterhooks.

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