On Friday, the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was still illuminated in the colors of the Ukrainian flag, and when Manuela Schwesig (SPD), the Prime Minister, circulated a picture of it, she was accused of hypocrisy - by the Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin .

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian flag waved in front of the state parliament, and the factions discussed in a special session what consequences the Ukraine war would have for the state's long-close relations with Moscow.

Matthias Wysuwa

Political correspondent for northern Germany and Scandinavia based in Hamburg.

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Schwesig made a U-turn on Monday and announced that all contacts and projects with Russia would be put on hold.

On Tuesday she was absent from the state parliament due to illness.

Her turnaround was welcomed by almost everyone there;

Nevertheless, she was not spared from criticism for the previous course.

“Dialogue with Russia neither goal-oriented nor value-driven”

But before the meeting could even begin, there was still a lot to be clarified.

The start was repeatedly postponed.

The governing factions of the SPD and Left joined the joint motion by the CDU, Greens and FDP, and so it was reported that some things still had to be agreed.

Then the chairman of the CDU parliamentary group, Franz-Robert Liskow, stepped up to the lectern and quickly turned to Schwesig and her party.

The SPD in particular had to put up with the "accusation that the dialogue with Russia in recent years was neither goal-oriented nor value-driven".

The belief that deeper trade relations with Russia, a friendship meeting like Russia Day and active help with the construction of Nord Stream 2 would secure peace was "naive at best".

Schwesig, he claimed, was "a Russian advertising icon" until two weeks ago.

But now, with Monday's statement, she sharply criticized Moscow, halted relations and events with Russia, and called for the country's "climate foundation," which was supposed to secure the pipeline construction, to be dissolved.

Schwesig also has the right to change her mind and "admit a serious error," said Liskow.

But before that, you need shame or at least remorse.

"Currently there is a lack of both." The FDP parliamentary group leader René Domke said later that it was the deceptive maneuvers, the camouflage and tricks that the state government was accused of.

Of course, Liskow had to admit that his faction "never vigorously objected".

When the foundation was set up in a special session of the state parliament over a year ago, this was done with the support of the CDU, which was still a junior partner in the government at the time.

Thomas Krüger recalled this when he spoke for the SPD parliamentary group.

Like all speakers except for the AfD, he sharply and unreservedly criticized Putin and the Russian attack.

A backdoor for Nord Stream 2?

He praised Schwesig, who had done everything right from the hospital bed in the last few days.

Krüger also said that there would be a back door for the operation of Nord Stream 2, namely if Putin ceased all hostilities and recognized the territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea.

If this does not happen, this back door will also slam shut.

Shortly before the start of the debate in the state parliament, there were initial reports that Nord Stream 2 AG had laid off all 140 employees at the company headquarters in Switzerland.

In the end, an AfD motion entitled “React calmly to Russian aggression – No return to the Cold War” was rejected, and that of the CDU, FDP, Greens, SPD and Left parties was accepted.

Among other things, the state government is asked to ensure that the "Climate Foundation" no longer exists.

In addition, the state government should refrain from anything that conflicts with the foreign policy goals of the federal government and the EU or puts them into perspective.