Berlin In view of new uncertainties about Russian gas supplies, there are growing concerns among politicians about social upheaval and political disputes. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) told the Handelsblatt: “Of course there is a risk that those who roared out their contempt for democracy during the Corona period and were often out and about with right-wing extremists will see the sharply rising prices as a new mobilization issue try to abuse.”
Populists and extremists use every crisis for fear and division, but also for hatred and threats. “They want to exacerbate crises in order to make a profit from them,” said Faeser. However, the security authorities keep a very close eye on the extremist scenes. “We are prepared, also for possible new protests,” emphasized the minister.
Green party leader Konstantin von Notz also sees dangers to internal security. “It is to be feared that right-wing populists will also exploit this social crisis for their own agitation,” he said. Against this background, solidarity and social cohesion will be very important in the coming weeks and months.
The SPD domestic politician Sebastian Fiedler sees Germany “probably facing the greatest social ordeal in post-war history”. He doesn’t even want to imagine today “what that could mean for the inner peace of society and for all of us security”. In his view, however, an increase in politically motivated crime is to be expected.
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The Federal Government Commissioner for East Germany, Carsten Schneider, fears serious effects, especially in East Germany. The SPD politician justified this by saying that the sharply rising energy prices “are hitting a large part of the population here harder”.
The reason for this is the lack of clarity as to whether Russia will again deliver gas via this route after the end of maintenance on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline on July 21. On Thursday, the Russian government no longer made the resumption of deliveries dependent on the solution of technical problems, but on Western sanctions.
Government official blames CDU, AfD and left for fears
This depends on demand in Europe, but also on “unilateral” sanctions, said a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry in Moscow. Shortly before, the Russian energy giant Gazprom had caused uncertainty because it pretended to have no evidence of the return of the Siemens turbine for Nord Stream 1, which had been serviced in Canada. The Kremlin had cited the maintenance as the reason for throttling gas supplies through the Baltic Sea pipeline.
The President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, was cautiously optimistic with regard to the development of gas prices. “There was no significant price jump this week, even though Nord Stream 1 was shut down,” said Müller of the “Bild am Sonntag”.
“This could mean that the markets have already priced in the loss of Russian gas supplies and that we have reached a gas price plateau.” However, it has not yet been decided whether these higher prices, “which we owe to the Russian gas reduction”, will have to be passed on in the short term.
CSU leader Markus Söder accused the red-green-yellow federal government of not having a well thought-out plan for replacing Russian gas. “Other countries report the conclusion of gas contracts with Qatar – we didn’t report anything, why only? How and when will the gas come?” Instead, there is a bidding competition from Berlin for suggestions on where people should limit themselves.
Söder: “We are not a broccoli republic. The Germans should also be allowed to eat meat”
Traffic light politicians have already promised further relief for citizens, but without naming specific measures. More specifically, CSU boss Söder. “My suggestion would be a 365-euro annual ticket for all local public transport throughout Germany,” he said.
In addition, Söder demanded that the tank discount be extended throughout the winter and that citizens be relieved of state fees. “I think it’s right to refrain from all fee increases nationwide for the time of the crisis or even to reduce them,” said the Bavarian Prime Minister.
Söder also considers tax cuts to be urgently needed. About flatter tariffs for income tax and the massive reduction in VAT on electricity, petrol, heating and all food. “So not just vegetables, as the Greens want, but also meat, fish and milk,” demanded Söder. “After all, we are not a broccoli republic. The Germans should also be allowed to eat meat.”
The economist Marcel Fratzscher reacted negatively. Söder’s demands “would be counterproductive, antisocial, ecologically harmful and extremely expensive,” said the President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) to the Handelsblatt. “They would mean a redistribution from bottom to top, from poor to rich.”
According to Fratzscher, a continuation of the tank discount would only prevent urgently needed savings. The economist called the reduction in income tax “highly anti-social” because people with high incomes in particular would benefit from it. The 40 percent of people with the lowest incomes pay no or almost no income tax anyway and would therefore have no benefit from this “very expensive” measure.
The SPD politician Fiedler also emphasizes that there is a need for action. He sees the problem across Germany that as a result of an intensification of the gas crisis, social solidarity could erode in several places at the same time. “This is the most fertile ground that hostile rulers like Putin or domestic extremists of all camps, most notably the AfD, could wish for their disinformation and extremist propaganda,” he said.
>> Read here: Germany threatens “social ordeal”: Politicians and economists warn of an escalation of the energy crisis
The CSU domestic politician Andrea Lindholz shares the concerns. “The energy crisis, inflation, corona, the weakness of the euro and climate change are further increasing the tension in our society,” said the deputy leader of the Union parliamentary group in the Handelsblatt. “Of course, these multiple crises can also affect internal security.”
Lindholz called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to show more leadership now. “A clear political language from the Federal Chancellor would be extremely important to reduce social tensions.”
The Federal Government is well aware of the difficult situation. Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck recently spoke of an impending “ordeal” should the “nightmare scenario” of a gas shortage become reality. “This will strain social solidarity to the limit and probably beyond.”
Lateral thinkers are already calling for resistance to government policies
Interior Minister Faeser warned against fueling the fears of those in the political center who would be hit particularly hard by rising prices. “Good, responsible social policy is the prerequisite for keeping our society together and also for protecting internal security,” said the SPD politician.
That is why the previous relief packages are so important. And that is why the Federal Chancellor’s solidarity with business and trade unions in the concerted action is so important “to cushion the worst consequences of the crisis triggered by Putin’s criminal war”.
The police union (GdP) does not want to “talk up a horror scenario”, but at the same time points out that individual groups, for example from the lateral thinker scene, are already “positioning themselves strongly against the federal government and calling for resistance” on social media.
GdP Federal Vice Dietmar Schilff told the Handelsblatt: “It cannot be ruled out that this will result in increased protests taking to the streets if unemployment rises significantly as a result of the energy crisis.”
>> Read here: Freeze against Putin? What the economy and citizens have to prepare for in the event of a gas emergency
The police are prepared for all eventualities, emphasized Schilff. There are emergency plans with which the security authorities are preparing for scenarios such as supply bottlenecks and possible consequences for internal security. “I hope that it will not come to that and that we will not experience any social unrest in Germany.” The trade unionist called on politicians to act. It is important that further relief for small and medium-sized incomes be considered.
The Green politician von Notz announced further relief steps. With the Ukraine war and the consequences for the people in Germany, one is experiencing an “absolutely exceptional situation,” he emphasized. “But as a society, we must not allow ourselves to be divided.”
More: Emergency plan – The EU wants to protect these sectors in the event of a gas failure