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Habeck's gas allocation soon dead? Even Lindner changes his mind – but the traffic light is looking for money and someone to blame

2022-09-25T20:40:21.746Z


Habeck's gas allocation soon dead? Even Lindner changes his mind – but the traffic light is looking for money and someone to blame Created: 09/25/2022, 22:28 By: Florian Naumann Christian Lindner (l.) advises cabinet colleague Robert Habeck to initially rely on coal and nuclear power plants again. © Michael Kappeler/dpa The traffic light could quickly bury Robert Habeck's gas levy. Christian L


Habeck's gas allocation soon dead?

Even Lindner changes his mind – but the traffic light is looking for money and someone to blame

Created: 09/25/2022, 22:28

By: Florian Naumann

Christian Lindner (l.) advises cabinet colleague Robert Habeck to initially rely on coal and nuclear power plants again.

© Michael Kappeler/dpa

The traffic light could quickly bury Robert Habeck's gas levy.

Christian Lindner counts the plans, but does not provide a solution.

A trick might help.

Berlin/Munich – The traffic light coalition has been struggling for weeks to deal with the gas levy – but now the plan of Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) could finally be on the verge of the end: Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) also counted the levy at the weekend.

SPD leader Lars Klingbeil expected a quick decision on Sunday.

The fact that Lindner has now changed his mind could come as a surprise: the gas levy would be a way to save the gas suppliers that are important for Germany without providing money from the federal coffers.

That would actually be in Lindner's sense, who vehemently defended the debt brake.

Where the funds should come from

without

the levy - it could be the next point of contention.

Habeck's gas allocation before the end?

Lindner does not want to pay on credit – the ministry mentions a cost

“We have a gas surcharge that increases the price.

But we need a gas price brake that lowers the price," said Lindner of the

picture on Sunday

.

A gas price brake must “quickly help everyone in an economy”.

It will be some time before all the help is there.

Spicy but: According to Lindner, the debt brake should remain in force.

It must be "connected to long-term stable state finances," he told the Sunday newspaper.

So there are still open questions.

And no small ones.

According to a response from Habeck's ministry to a request from the left-wing faction, the alternative solution, a gas price cap, would be expensive.

In order to lower the end consumer price by one cent per kilowatt hour, an amount of 2.5 billion euros would be required from the state coffers.

The AFP news agency reported on the paper on Sunday.

The total costs would therefore depend on "how high the cap is set and how the end consumer prices develop".

Gas allocation: Scholz owes his word of power – Greens point to Lindner

Nevertheless, the SPD apparently wants to bury the controversial gas surcharge quickly.

He has "no doubt that we will get a final decision on the gas levy next week," said SPD leader Klingbeil on the ZDF program "Berlin direct".

The gas levy is “on shaky ground”.

In fact, it is disputed whether the instrument is still legal after Uniper's nationalization.

Habeck's ministry also expressed doubts.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) did not speak a word of power during a visit to Qatar.

All he said was that the aim was to lower the "far too high prices" for both electricity and gas.

A commission of experts met for the first time on Saturday, and he expects “quick results”.

"The gas surcharge can go as soon as the Treasury Department shows a willingness for alternatives."

Green boss Ricard Lang names Christian Lindner in the "Report from Berlin" as a blocker in the levy-off.

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Apparently, however, not only does the search for solutions begin within the coalition – but also for those responsible.

Klingbeil emphasized that Habeck must now submit a proposal.

Green leader Ricarda Lang saw things differently.

"The gas surcharge can go away as soon as the Ministry of Finance shows a willingness for alternatives," she explained in the "Report from Berlin" of the ARD.

Ultimately, this could only be financing "from the budget".

Gas allocation: Traffic light is looking for the solution - Spahn loses patience with Lindner and Habeck

But there is also a possible way out: a special fund based on the model of the Bundeswehr “turning point”.

Lang was explicitly open to this variant.

A special fund has the advantage for the government that its loans are counted towards the national debt, but do not fall under the requirements of the debt brake.

But it would be the next financial trick in politically difficult times.

The Union criticized the traffic light debates about the levy that had been going on for weeks.

Group Vice Jens Spahn (CDU) told the

world

: "For weeks, the finance and economics ministers of the traffic light have been arguing publicly and are increasing the uncertainty in the middle of the crisis".

"The two should finally sit down and find a solution for the good of the country." (

fn / AFP

)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-09-25

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