The head of the German arm of Russian energy titan Gazprom has launched a scathing attack on German energy market policy, accusing it of being 'Marxist' and against business, the Daily Telegraph has reported.
In a surprise move, Hans-Joachim Gornig, the managing director of Gazprom’s operations in Germany, has suggested that his company will reconsider investing in Germany because, he says, the major western European nation has fallen into the hands of Marxist-style extremists and is therefore no longer a safe place to do business.
The stark warning comes in response to Gazprom’s frustrations over what it sees as political roadblocks in Germany. Ironically, the gas major from the former communist country is unhappy with Germany’s ‘Marxist’ energy sector unbundling program that will see utilities forced to divest network infrastructure to third parties.
In a further stroke of irony, Mr Gornig’s description of the business environment in Germany is one that many in the energy industry would, in fact, recognize as the current conditions in Russia, where foreign companies are nervous about apparent government interference and re-nationalization policies.
Mr Gornig warned that Gazprom would hold back until Berlin resolved its energy policy.