Fracking dispute: "Problembär" Söder complains about "Bayern bashing" and is mocked by the Greens
Created: 2022-08-02 09:42
By: Jens Kiffmeier
Markus Söder follows up: In the fracking dispute, the CSU boss senses targeted propaganda against Bavaria.
But criticism of his role in the gas crisis continues.
Munich/Berlin – Strong discord between the north and the south: Markus Söder (CSU) has added to the dispute over how to deal with the gas crisis in Germany.
The Bavarian prime minister accused the federal government of inciting strong sentiment against his state.
He felt an "anti-Bayern mood, sometimes even Bayern bashing," complained the CSU boss in the
Bild
newspaper.
"You get the impression that one or the other traffic light coalition partner is humming the song 'Take off the Bavarians' Lederhosen'." But he was unable to silence his critics.
Gas crisis in Germany: Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) wants fracking – in contrast to Lower Saxony
A dispute over the solution to the gas crisis in Germany has been raging for days.
It was sparked by Markus Söder (CSU).
In view of the impending bottlenecks in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Bavaria's Prime Minister had campaigned for the promotion of fracking gas.
Larger deposits are mainly found in Lower Saxony.
However, the mining of shale gas is considered to be problematic from an environmental point of view and is currently prohibited in Germany.
From the point of view of the state government in Hanover, this should remain the case, as reported by kreiszeitung.de.
Stands alone with his fracking idea: Prime Minister Markus Söder complains about Bayern bashing from Berlin.
© Peter Kneffel/dpa
Both Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) and Economics Minister Bernd Althusmann (CDU) already harshly rejected the Söder initiative.
However, Bavaria's head of government claims that there are now more environmentally friendly processes than in the past, as he told the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The high energy prices would worry him extremely, so Söder.
Therefore, all alternative options must be considered in order to push prices down again.
Fracking in Germany: Söder complains about Bayern bashing and is mocked as a problem bear
However, the critics accuse Söder of deliberate diversionary maneuvers in the debate about Bayern bashing.
After Bavaria has been on the brakes on the expansion of renewable energies in recent years and is most dependent on Russian natural gas of all federal states, Söder now has to pay the price for inaction, said Omid Nouripour of the Bayern media group.
"Markus Söder is the problem bear of the energy supply in Germany," said the Green leader.
"That's not going to happen with the energy transition."
