A European Commission spokesperson says Russia is focusing on Germany more than any other EU country—and estimates the Kremlin is spending €1 billion on disinformation campaigns.
This is oversimplification to avoid an essay; Nationalism has been on the rise all over. With nationalism comes a loss of multi-nation agreements/positive sentiment (a la Brexit). Even without statements of pro-Putin ideology, it’s easy to see why Russia would want nationalists in power. I have family in Germany and am worried about AfD.
TL;DR - they don’t even need to be pro-Putin to get his help (not to say that they aren’t)
It’s not the default position?
This is oversimplification to avoid an essay; Nationalism has been on the rise all over. With nationalism comes a loss of multi-nation agreements/positive sentiment (a la Brexit). Even without statements of pro-Putin ideology, it’s easy to see why Russia would want nationalists in power. I have family in Germany and am worried about AfD.
TL;DR - they don’t even need to be pro-Putin to get his help (not to say that they aren’t)