In all this cacophony, generated by the attempt on the life of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the real state of affairs is drowning.
But Angela Merkel has always insisted that the Russian-German gas agreement is an entirely commercial project.
Nord Stream has always managed to unsettle the level-headed Germans.
I remember the energy conferences held in Germany in 2006.
Then the mere idea of building such a gas pipeline, directly connecting Germany and Russia, caused deep political differences, and not only in Berlin, but throughout the European Union.
The Conservatives did not like this idea for the simple reason that it was "Schroeder's project" - the legacy of the Social Democrat Gerhard Schroeder, who lost the elections to Angela Merkel in September 2005.
Schroeder agreed on this project with his good friend, President Vladimir Putin, and then headed the company responsible for its implementation.
Pipelines and party politics
Around the same time, I received an invitation to an energy conference in Munich from the conservative think tank Hanns Seidel Foundation, run by the Bavarian Christian Social Union, the traditional junior partner of the ruling party, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany.
The outcome of the debates on Nord Stream was negative.
The participants agreed that the Russian-German gas pipeline would lead to the collapse of the common European foreign policy and harm the EU's energy ambitions.
I have attended many such events throughout Germany, both at the parliamentary level and at various universities, and everywhere I listened carefully to the arguments presented.
I noticed that the attitude towards Nord Stream was much more favorable in the meetings held under the auspices of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.
Over the years, however, the divisions between the various parties evaporated and a consensus was reached in support of strengthening energy cooperation between Berlin and Moscow.
After the first gas pipeline, Nord Stream 1, was commissioned in 2011 and direct supplies of Russian gas to Germany began across the Baltic Sea, politicians representing the full spectrum of political views came to its defense.
They also enthusiastically supported the idea of building Nord Stream 2, known as SP-2.
The 1,200-kilometer ($ 11bn) (£ 8.4bn) pipeline is now nearly completed and was due to go online next year.
But now, in the final stages of construction, everything is in limbo due to the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The construction of Nord Stream 2 has always been controversial.
Critics of the initiative, such as the United States and Poland, argued that Germany would become too dependent on the energy resources of a politically unreliable partner.
Last year, President Trump signed a law imposing sanctions on any company that helps the Russian state-owned gas producer Gazprom complete the pipeline.
The White House fears that the implementation of the project will lead to increased control of Russia over energy supplies to Europe, as well as to reduce the share of American liquefied natural gas in the lucrative European market.
These sanctions caused delays in the construction of the pipeline.
They had to look for a replacement for the ships of the Swiss company, which risked falling under sanctions.
Before that, the European Commission had put forward a number of different legal requirements that companies had to comply with retroactively.
Now, due to the incident with Navalny, who was taken out of a medical coma and is currently undergoing treatment in a Berlin clinic, complete uncertainty reigns in the situation with the project.
The resulting political turmoil threatens the relationship between Germany, the European Union, Russia and Washington.
And everything revolves around the pipeline.
Various German sources, including the German Armed Forces Laboratory, claim that Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent from the Novichok group.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) in an interview published on Sunday by Bild, said: “I hope Russia will not force us to change our position on Nord Stream 2.
We have high hopes for the Russian government in solving this serious crime. "
According to him, he saw "a lot of evidence" that the Russian authorities were behind the assassination attempt.
“The deadly chemical weapons that poisoned Navalny were in the past at the disposal of the Russian authorities,” he said.
Maas admitted that stopping the construction of the almost completed pipeline would harm the interests of German and European business in general, noting that “more than a hundred companies from 12 European countries, about half of them from Germany, are participating in the construction of the pipeline.
In addition, he threatened the Kremlin with wider EU sanctions if the Russian side does not help to sort out what happened "in the coming days."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov responded by calling the accusations "unfounded."
Moscow has strongly denied any involvement in the incident.
The matter is complicated by internal German political considerations.
Demanding a halt to gas pipeline construction, Norbert Röttgen, who is in charge of foreign policy in the ruling CDU party, is among the conservatives fighting for party leadership ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel's resignation next year.
Meanwhile, Merkel is still trying to find a balance between the country's legal obligations (her mantra that "SP-2" is a "purely commercial project" is well known) and the current serious foreign policy crisis.
The Chancellor has always been focused on the business aspect.
But most major energy projects also have a geopolitical dimension, and Nord Stream is certainly no exception.
As the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria, I myself have repeatedly witnessed very harsh criticism of this project from American politicians and officials.
I remember how US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September 2018, only said that about the SP-2 project.
I objected that pipelines are not built to annoy others, but because there is a demand for them.
One thing was certain: US resistance to Nord Stream would not weaken, and now the Navalny case has given him a new impetus.
What we are seeing is a large-scale politicization of the gas pipeline, and many people are making loud statements about this.
Diplomatic confrontation instead of solution
So we find ourselves in a very toxic atmosphere, and it can be difficult to reconsider our position without losing face.
Social Democrat Maas, like the conservative Röttgen and many others, turned to the media for various reasons.
According to my observations, this may be due to the desire of each of them to take a strong position in order to thus announce their forthcoming release from the control of the political giant Merkel, who is to step down next year.
Due to its professional and sensitive approach to combating the pandemic, its popularity is much higher today than before the crisis.
Which creates difficulties for the junior partner in the person of Foreign Minister Maas and all those who want to challenge her within the party.
It is necessary to move the discussion of this issue beyond the media space and petty momentary politics.
For some, loud statements may play into the hands, but they clearly do not serve the interests of all parties involved.
And there is a lot at stake.
This is not only about energy security during the transition period, in particular, as nuclear power is gradually phased out.
It's much more complicated.
As a legal professional, my biggest concern is the loss of confidence in contracts.
If the pipeline is canceled for political reasons, the main victim will be vertragstreue, as it is called in German - loyalty to treaties.
This is one of the fundamental principles of any civilization, what was called pactasuntservanda in ancient Rome - treaties must be respected.
Our entire legal system is built on this.
Who will conclude such major agreements with German companies when, due to the political environment, the terms of the agreement can change literally overnight?
Let's remember the South Stream
In June 2014, construction sites on both sides of the Black Sea, in Russia and Bulgaria, were ready to start work on the construction of the South Stream pipeline.
But after pressure from the European Commission, the work never began.
The political reason was the controversial situation in Ukraine, namely the annexation of Crimea.
However, from the legal point of view, this was justified by the fact that the tenders were played in violation of the EU rules on competition.
Tens of thousands of work permits issued in Bulgaria, Serbia and other countries have been revoked.
Economically, this has resulted in the increased influence of China in the region.
South Stream was redirected to Turkey.
And so we found ourselves in the center of the diplomatic confrontation.
Yes, the problem is real and this moment could be a watershed.
Will contractual terms continue to be respected, or will this uncertainty begin to take root at all levels?
Germany is based on treaties and norms (which, perhaps, are too much), but not at will.
The author's point of view may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.