GERMANY SCRAMBLING TO SAVE ITSELF FROM A GAS CRISIS

   Shortly after Scholz’s government took power in December, dozens of newly-elected politicians in his coalition of Social Democrats, Greens and pro-business Free Democrats had considered talk of Germany’s gas risks a conspiracy theory, but then they saw the facts: reserves at the time would last about 10 days if a cold snap set in.
   It was the beginning of a reality check. For decades, Germany’s leadership under Gerhard Schroeder and Angela Merkel argued that cozy energy relations with Russia were an asset rather than a liability. In last year’s campaign, Scholz called US criticism of German policy “false” because it didn’t take into account the entire energy mix. The thinking across much of the country’s political spectrum was that if Russia didn’t cut supplies during the Cold War, it wouldn’t during a conflict with Ukraine.
  But with Europe shifting toward renewable power and away from the fossil fuels Russia provides, officials underestimated Putin’s willingness to take advantage of the leverage while he still had it. They also missed a key red flag.