Ask HN: Why can't Germany just go cold turkey and turn off Russian Gas?

It's just, that one should not rely upon the health of others. Germany realized that a long time ago. Did a lot to curb up their economical Situation and doing some serious reforms. Also, the whole people think in terms like "we're a social democracy".

Other EU-members, like the Southerns, they did not realize that. Actually, they see Europe as a Money-Transfer-mechanism and are not willing to change anything at all. They get the eu-money and make "presents" for their voters.

Of course it's the same in Germany and may be everywhere around the world - there need to be done some reforms in terms to set the railings of the future.

So you may see, that the wealth of Germany is something not falling from the sky, but rather is a result of people's work hours.

Germans do care. They "care" for all the members of the EU. They already gave a lot of more of money. More than others in the EU. Poland and Germany take the biggest amount of refuges (with the latter, Poland, the biggest amount).

One also needs to understand that there is no "one has to start". It's already like that . Everyone is already paying a toll. The political decisions made, the sanctions - all that will cost us trillions. We're moving out of the tubed gas (energetically: stupid). We're accepting the whole self-cutting..

So, actually, what is actually expected from Germany? To give heavy artillery? Tanks? Soldiers? LoL. After the second world war Germany has been demilitarized by the block-forces. That laws didn't change since then. We're not having big army. We can develop weapons and sell them. Ukraine got something like 1 billion from Germans with the words "we can't give you. But you can buy with that money what ever you need"

So ... They help. They suffering, too. What about the U.S. should pay Europe money, because the whole war wouldn't even have started without the U.S. keeping promising (and deliver) help? If Ukraine would know some other big players wouldn't help in conflict with the "big enemy", it would not come to such escalation at all.

So, why should everyone pay, deliver, kill contracts and kill their economy, when there is a clear misbehaving of the bigger politics? And why it have to be the Germans? :) This is kind of "you have, me not, you help, I watch"

Political discussion is very necessary here.

Thank you very much for the discussion, and, truly, don't be sorry for hurting one's patriotism. If one is hurted soo much by (sometimes very true words) - that's not the guy who's gonna change anything in the world.

Cheers from Germany