Two women, their bodies painted with the words “gas embargo now”, staged the protest during an open event at the Chancellery in Berlin, where the German leader posed for photos with the public. They were quickly ushered away by the chancellor’s security team. Some commentators have criticized Mr Scholz for not taking stronger action against the Russian energy sector after Moscow invaded Ukraine six months ago. However, his ruling coalition argues that a full embargo would lead to severe economic consequences for Germany. Instead, it has said it will phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year and Russian gas imports by mid-2024. The topless demonstration came at the end of a difficult week for Mr Scholz, who has struggled to maintain public support amid soaring inflation. The 64-year-old was mobbed by crowds in the town of Neuruppin on Wednesday as he gave a speech on his government’s plans to tackle the cost of living crisis. He got into hot water by failing to immediately counter Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at a joint press conference in Berlin when he accused Israel of committing “50 Holocausts”. And on Friday the opposition party in Hamburg accused him of concealing the truth at a hearing into a major tax fraud that took place during his tenure as mayor of the northern port city – charges he denies, instead complaining of memory lapses . To compound these facts, a poll released Sunday found his approval rating had fallen from 46 percent in March to just 25 percent in August. Overall, 62 percent of Germans think the Social Democratic Party (SPD) politician is doing a bad job, up from 39 percent five months ago.
