Wolfgang Schäuble
In an interview on Tuesday with Bild-TV, the former finance minister and president of the German government said Germans should "just put on a sweater, or maybe a second sweater" in the event of a freezing-cold winter.
"You don't have to whine about it, you have to recognize that a lot of things can't be taken for granted," he told the news channel.
Comment: It's likely that the reason European citizens have yet to revolt against their incompetent and pathological leadership is because normalcy bias means that people are taking for granted what they have, and they don't really believe that they will be forced to suffer this winter, despite all the threats and warnings from the pathocrats in the West.
European leaders have raised concerns about the possibility of power cuts this winter because of the squeeze in energy supplies. "That's why you should always have a few candles, matches and a flashlight at home," Schäuble told Bild-TV.
Comment: And what will people do during these blackouts? Sit at home shivering whilst screaming 'take that Russia!'? What of their jobs? The vulnerable, elderly, and the very young that they care for whose lives are now dependent on reliable power supplies?
The 80-year-old also warned Germans not to assume the government could solve financial problems such as soaring inflation and energy costs.
"If we suggest to people that everything is unlimited, we are overexploiting. Then people get the impression that the state can do everything - that is not sustainable," Schäuble told Bild-TV.
Comment: The state seems to do everything that it wants - witness the 2-year-long lockdowns that people were forced to comply with - and abrogates responsibility for everything else.
Russia continues to hold back natural gas supplies to Europe after the West imposed sanctions on Moscow for invading Ukraine. As a result of the shortages, energy prices have sky-rocketed, leaving some people struggling to afford food and other basic items.
European retailers, banks, and other businesses have already implemented energy-saving measures, such as switching off illuminated advertisements for 18 hours, keeping doors shut, and turning off fountains, ahead of potential shortages.
Meanwhile, some governments have introduced rules aimed to keep energy use to a minimum. For example, Germany banned heated swimming pools and Spain restricted heating to a maximum temperature of 19 degrees Celsius in public buildings.
Comment: And even with all the above restrictions being enacted in response to the manufactured energy crisis; actors in the West blew up the gas pipelines; Europe chose to wage this proxy-war on Russia.
Further, despite their best efforts, Europe is still forecast to run out of energy mid-winter. And, notably, in the excerpt above, Schäuble does not provide any suggestion as to how he thinks people should deal with the looming food shortages.