Criticism of CDU ministers: Olaf Scholz attacks Jens Spahn and Peter Altmaier

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SPD candidate for Chancellor Scholz

Photo: Fabian Sommer / dpa

SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz has to improve his party's bad polls before the federal election.

In a parliamentary group meeting, the finance minister is now relying on clear words against his ministerial colleagues from the CDU.

According to participants, Scholz not only criticized Minister of Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier, but also Minister of Health Jens Spahn.

The Union's climate protection plans are evidently causing particular annoyance at Scholz. The future energy consumption was systematically reduced by the CDU and CSU in order to reduce the expansion of renewable energies, argued Scholz at the meeting. "I assume that we need 100 terawatt hours more," said Scholz according to the participants. "Altmaier missed that completely in the past few years," Scholz attacked his colleague in the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The Union top had only announced on Monday that they wanted to improve climate protection after the Federal Constitutional Court's verdict on the climate law. Both CDU boss Armin Laschet and CSU boss Markus Söder promised strict climate protection goals independently of each other. In a new climate paper from the CDU, which is available to SPIEGEL, it also said, for example, that CO2 savings must be at least 65 percent by 2030.

CSU boss Markus Blume had previously brought an increase in the CO2 price into play.

The 60 euros that the Greens asked for as a price seemed to him "clearly too much".

But it is good to "meet in the middle," said Blume, "somewhere perhaps at 45 euros."

According to the participants in the parliamentary group meeting, Scholz said that he found the dispute over CO2 prices "a bit cheap, because it completely ignores the social dimension of the whole thing."

It is »unfair« to unilaterally pass the increasing burden of a higher CO2 price on to the tenants.

Criticism of Spahn's nursing reform

At the parliamentary group meeting, Scholz also defended the draft law introduced by Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) for higher wages in the care of the elderly.

Heil had submitted the draft last week, although Health Minister Spahn is actually working on the nursing reform.

Most recently, however, the Union and the SPD could not agree on a draft law.

Heil's proposal provides for collectively agreed wages as a condition for billing with long-term care insurance.

»In the proposal by the Federal Minister of Health Spahn, there is only talk of 'customary remuneration';

that means: in areas where people are generally poorly paid, care is poorly paid too, ”said Scholz now.

That is "brazen and dishonest".

Spahn had finally rejected Heil's advance.

»A draft law for the nursing care reform has long been available.

In contrast to the labor minister's plan, not only the interests of the nursing staff are taken into account, but also those of those in need of care, ”said Spahn.

However, according to the Ministry of Health, just increasing the tariffs is not enough.

Whoever wants to pay collective bargaining must also cover the personal contributions of those in need of care, said Spahn.

fek / cte / Reuters