Ramelow: Traffic light has corrected errors in citizen relief

Created: 09/04/2022Updated: 09/04/2022 15:08

Bodo Ramelow (Die Linke), Prime Minister of Thuringia.

© Martin Schutt/dpa

In the opinion of Thuringia's Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow, the traffic light government has corrected errors in the first packages with the relief steps that have now been decided.

"There are things that are right and things that are overdue," said the left-wing politician on Sunday when asked by dpa in Erfurt.

He also sees the third relief package as a reaction to public pressure.

Erfurt/Berlin - Ramelow gave a positive assessment of the planned relief for pensioners and a planned electricity price reform.

"All in all, the third relief package does not meet expectations sufficiently," said Ramelow.

As long as the debt brake for Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) outweighs social peace in the country, other European countries with less economic power than Germany would take greater relief steps.

The German state benefits greatly from higher tax revenues from inflation and still negative real interest rates.

"This money must be used to prevent people with low incomes in particular from losing their purchasing power and standard of living in the long term," demanded Thuringia's head of government.

The traffic light coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to relieve people of more than 65 billion euros after a decision on Sunday.

The first two relief packages together had a volume of 30 billion euros.

Scholz announced that excessive profits on the electricity market should be skimmed off.

Among other things, it was decided that pensioners would receive a one-time energy price flat rate of 300 euros as of December 1st, students and trainees of 200 euros.

In addition, a reduced price should apply for a certain basic consumption in the future.

In addition, there will be a new nationwide local transport ticket with a price range between 49 and 69 euros per month.

The federal states still have to agree to the financing.

dpa