The planned gas allocation is about to end. Over the weekend in Berlin, several prominent representatives of the traffic light parties expressed doubts about the usefulness of this measure, with which Federal Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) originally wanted to cushion the consequences of the price increase for gas importers. For example, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) spoke. “The question of economic significance increasingly arises,” Lindner said of the photo on Sunday. “We have a gasoline surcharge that drives up the price. But we need a gasoline price brake that drives the price down.”
The gas rate should actually be decided in the cabinet this Wednesday. This measure was intended to support gas importers who are experiencing economic difficulties due to the sharp rise in gas purchase prices. In concrete terms, all gas consumers must pay an additional 2.4 cents per kilowatt-hour consumed. But in recent days, the responsible minister Habeck himself had expressed doubts about the gas surcharge, especially of a legal nature. Even when the House of Habeck sent the bill to its fellow cabinet members, the cover letter is said to have emphasized that there were definitely “alternatives”. However, these alternatives – such as curbing the price of gasoline – would strain the budget and make it difficult or impossible to comply with the debt brake.
The fact that FDP leader Lindner is now apparently ready to accept a larger national debt may be due to the fact that Liberals are seeking an internal coalition trade-off: a renewed suspension of the debt brake, which Lindner really did not want, in exchange for an extension of the lifespan of nuclear plants, which the Greens decline. The leader of the liberal parliamentary group Christian Dürr made his ideas clear: the finance minister is already working on a brake on the price of gasoline, Dürr told Tagesspiegel. “In return, we now also hope that the Greens will finally make progress on nuclear energy.”
An idea that Britta Haßelmann, leader of the Greens’ parliamentary group, bluntly rejects. It is the coalition’s task to support citizens and businesses with rising energy costs, she told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The Minister of Finance must have money on hand for this. However, it is “absurd to want to turn this into a binding agreement with extended deadlines,” says Hasselmann. “We don’t do irrelevant business.” Nuclear energy is a high-risk energy. “There should be no rotten compromises at the expense of people’s safety. That’s why phasing out nuclear energy remains the right decision.”
The mood within the traffic light coalition has recently been mixed, especially between Lindner and Habeck, there are notably severe tensions. So now the discussion about nuclear energy can resurface again. However, there is also pressure from within the ranks to reach a deal quickly: Lower Saxony Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD), who is currently campaigning, said over the weekend that he “hopes the price cap of gas is in effect in October”. .