Annalena Baerbock, the Greens’ candidate to be chancellor of Germany, is attracting the attention of the Kremlin with her hawkish attitude to Russia and her slip-ups on the campaign trail have left her vulnerable.
Russia has identified 40-year-old Baerbock as a threat to its interests after she briefly topped the polls ahead of September’s election, according to three people familiar with the authorities’ thinking. Her opposition to completing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Germany and Russia is a particular concern. One person close to the Russian government said it would be prepared to go to great lengths to block her path to office.