On the 35th day of the Ukraine war, the Russian journalist Marina Owsjannikova, who became famous overnight, is a guest at “Markus Lanz”. Your criticism of Putin has not diminished.
Hamburg – In the “Markus Lanz” round on Wednesday evening (March 30), journalist Katrin Eigendorf and talk show host Markus Lanz first analyze the situation in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin* deliberately created the images of the tremendous destruction from Mariupol in order to weaken the morale of the Ukrainian population on the one hand and to show the world community that Russia is ready to go very far on the other. Politician Michael Roth (SPD)* says he is seeing the pictures for the first time and is struggling for composure. “It doesn’t leave anyone cold. We are looking at a failed hope,” states the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Russian journalist Marina Owsjannikova on “Markus Lanz”: “Maybe I’m good for someone”
The Russian journalist Marina Owsjannikova, who became world famous with her six-second protest on state television*, then joined in via video from Moscow. She has not yet been sentenced for going live, and the “administrative process” is currently at rest. Ovsjannikova does not know what that means, she is currently waiting for the decision to be made. She is afraid of further criminal prosecution and being disciplined by her employer.
Friends suggested that Ovsyannikova go to the French embassy with her passport and apply for asylum. But the journalist says she wants to stay in Russia: “I’m not looking for a warm place abroad.” Her protest action served the purpose of “waking up the public, who have practically become zombies from this propaganda”. Host Lanz is surprised that Ovsjannikova can even give an interview critical of Putin on German television. Even Ovzyannikova herself is not sure what purpose Russia is pursuing with this: “Maybe I’m good for someone. Maybe for our government. Maybe they want some dialogue with the West to take place through me. I don’t know what their goals are.”
Information war in the Ukraine conflict – Marina Owsjannikova on “Markus Lanz”: “There is an information vacuum in Russia”
All the information is available from their broadcaster, the state-owned Perwy Kanal (First Channel). When she comes into the office, she sees images from Western news agencies on the screens. Having access to this is not something that can be taken for granted, says Ovsjannikova: “At the moment I wasn’t an ordinary, average citizen of Russia, because I had much more access to information than other people.” She saw the reality that was kept secret on Russian television after the start of the war, the station completely stopped using Western images.
“Markus Lanz” – these were his guests on March 30th:
- Michael Roth (SPD*) – Politician
- Katrin Eigendorf – journalist
- Rudiger Bachmann – economist
- Cordula Tutt – journalist
- Marina Ovsyannikova – journalist
Moderator Lanz then wanted to know from the journalist Cordula Tutt what it means that Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) announced the early warning level of the gas emergency plan on Wednesday. This explains that this is a state energy security plan in which “we switch off in stages when there is no more. We are now at the first of three stages”. It is a formal acknowledgment of the situation that there will soon not be enough gas for Germany’s needs.
Talkmaster Lanz then announced the economist Rüdiger Bachmann, who joined in via video from the USA, as the “economist of the hour”. Bachmann is convinced that Putin needs the foreign exchange from the commodity trade, his backsliding, only wanting to accept rubles for raw materials, speaks for this: “One can argue how important they are for warfare. But they are important for Russia and the Putin regime. Otherwise he would not have retired today.”
Economist Rüdiger Bachmann on “Markus Lanz”: “We could afford a commodity embargo”
Together with an international research team, Bachmann and his colleagues have been trying in recent weeks to verify Vice Chancellor Habeck’s claim that not using Russian raw materials would lead to mass unemployment and mass poverty. The research team does not want to position itself on the question of a raw materials embargo, but to look at: “What if? We just wanted to know. Is this, I would say more gut feeling claim by Robert Habeck* actually true?”
To this end, the team carried out model calculations that would result in a recession of three percent “in the worst case” as a result of a Russian raw material import ban. “These numbers have now also been confirmed by other institutes and other research teams,” Bachmann explains, pointing out that further model calculations suggest a worst-case scenario of a six percent decline in the German economy. That would also be bearable for Bachmann: “I would like to remind you that the Corona recession was also minus five percent.”
War in Ukraine and dependence on Russia for raw materials – SPD man Roth on “Lanz”: “Politics must find an answer”
Despite this analysis, SPD politician Roth speaks out against stopping raw material imports: “If we had to judge it from a purely moral point of view, I would immediately be in favor of imposing this embargo. I find it appalling that every day we transfer $1 billion to Putin and his cronies to secure our energy supply.” Roth, however, feels that he is also “guilty” in this case, blaming unemployment, inflation and rising energy costs favored in Germany. The Social Democrat reports from his own constituency, in which a fertilizer manufacturer would have to “close up shop for one to two years” in the event of an embargo because he produces with Russian energy. If production were to fail, the largest fertilizer manufacturers on the world market would be Russia and Belarus – then there would be a threat of fertilizer shortages as a necessary consequence.
“Politics must find an answer to this. I can’t stand here and say I’m completely sure of myself,” Roth admits, expressing his gratitude to Bachmann. His work illustrates the serious struggle for the situation. He credits Minister of Economics Habeck with the fact that he was able to reduce dependence on gas from 55 to 40 percent and on coal and oil to 25 percent in a short time. Bachmann, on the other hand, thinks that raw material imports could be stopped and a protective shield put around endangered companies, just as politics during the Corona pandemic * secured the existence of restaurants, the tourism industry and Lufthansa. The economist emphasizes energetically: “This is a question of economic policy. That means it is a question of will.”
“Markus Lanz” – The conclusion of the show
On Wednesday evening, the Russian journalist Marina Owsjannikova reported to “Markus Lanz” via video from Russia and courageously spoke about the Russian propaganda, in which she herself was involved. The journalists Katrin Eigendorf and Cordula Tutt comment on what is happening in the Ukraine and Russia before discussing how practicable a Russian raw materials embargo is with the politician Michael Roth and Rüdiger Bachmann, who is also connected from Washington. Bachmann and Roth only agree on the future question of tax increases for the rich, because, according to Roth: “In the end, someone has to pay for it.” (Hermann Racke) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
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