Berlin The parliamentary summer break was urgently needed in the opinion of leading traffic light politicians. Recently, the conflicts in the government alliance had increased. “I think we can all use the break to start fresh again afterwards,” said Green Party boss Omid Nouripour recently in an interview with the Handelsblatt.
The traffic light partners are taking many of these conflicts unresolved into the summer break. They wait when returning at the end of August. It could be a hot autumn, a traffic light politician suspects. These issues are waiting for the coalition:
The question of whether the remaining three nuclear power plants should run longer has become an ongoing dispute in the coalition, but also with the opposition. The Greens are skeptical about an extension of the term, mainly because of security concerns, but they also want to be pragmatic.
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Among other things, they are discussing letting them run a few months longer in a so-called stretching operation. Green politicians do not rule this out either, but they point to a new stress test on the power supply ordered by Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens).
Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) recently said with regard to Isar 2: “If the stress test shows that Bavaria could actually have a serious electricity or grid problem, then we will evaluate this situation and the options that then exist.”
>> Read here: “We’re counting again now”: Federal government is examining longer nuclear power plant runtimes
However, there has long been a debate about longer operation or even the restarting of nuclear power plants that have already been shut down. Voices from the Union and the FDP are coming in this direction. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), for example, made it clear that the three remaining nuclear power plants would have to be operated until 2024 if necessary.
However, in addition to the SPD, the Greens in particular are opposed to this. “Now there are no distracting debates, but concrete suggestions on how we can save energy even faster and expand wind and solar energy,” said the deputy leader of the Greens, Julia Verlinden, the Handelsblatt. “Unfortunately, nothing useful” could be heard from the Union and the FDP.
The Greens will probably not make it easy for their coalition partner. In the end, there might be the speed limit in return, even if the Greens are officially reluctant to enter into such a deal.
speed limit
A general speed limit has been a hot topic in the climate debate for years. As a result of the Ukraine war, it has now increasingly come into focus – as a possible contribution to saving energy. For the SPD, the matter is actually clear: party leader Saskia Esken considers a temporary speed limit to be conceivable, the co-leader of the SPD-Left, Sebastian Roloff, even mandatory.
There are very good arguments for a speed limit of 130 kilometers per hour on motorways, because it saves energy in a very simple way, Roloff told the Handelsblatt. Surveys also showed that the measure was accepted by the population. “The FDP should now drop the ideological blockade and think about the security of supply in the country,” demanded the member of the Bundestag.
Within the traffic light coalition, however, the Liberals are opposed to a speed limit, which they had already strictly rejected in the coalition negotiations. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) recently said that “this government has not agreed on a speed limit and that’s why it won’t happen”.
But the question is which agreements are still valid in view of the Ukraine war and the change of era proclaimed by the chancellor. After all, the coalition agreement also says: “We are sticking to the German nuclear phase-out.” Nevertheless, the Liberals are campaigning for an extension of the term.
This in turn gave the deputy chairman of the Union faction Jens Spahn (CDU) the idea of offering the traffic light a deal. The Union would support the introduction of a speed limit on motorways for a temporary extension of nuclear power plant runtimes. FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr immediately understood the offer as what it would be if the coalition agreed to it – a “horse trade”. And declined.
Corona measures
With a view to a potentially critical corona situation in autumn, the traffic light coalition has been struggling for months to expand state protection requirements. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) are currently negotiating which measures should be made possible in the cold season.
There is not much time left: The current Infection Protection Act expires at the end of September – and with it the legal basis for the basic protective measures currently in force, such as the obligation to wear masks in buses, trains and clinics. An extension or even tightening must be decided by the traffic light groups in the Bundestag. After the summer break, there are only two parliamentary weeks left.
The FDP wants to achieve that there are as few measures as possible. Health Minister Lauterbach, on the other hand, believes that the broadest possible legal framework is necessary. The consensus seems to be at least a mask requirement indoors, which Buschmann promised. Lauterbach and Buschmann have also ruled out school closures. Large-scale lockdowns also seem unlikely.
reliefs
This year, the traffic light coalition has already decided on two relief packages with a total volume of over 30 billion euros. But it is already clear that this will not be enough in view of the exploding energy prices. There will be further measures for the coming year. And the coalition must agree on this soon.
It is still uncertain how reliable and how expensive the energy supply will be in the coming winters.
(Photo: dpa)
What these are and what they should look like is a matter of debate within the government alliance. Chancellor Scholz has just announced a housing benefit reform. This should expand the circle of eligible households “early next year” and “integrate a flat-rate heating fee, so to speak, permanently,” he said. This is intended to support people with low and middle incomes.
However, the coalition also has other ideas. Finance Minister Christian Lindner will present the progress report in the autumn. This quantifies the burden on taxpayers from the cold progression, i.e. creeping tax increases, which result from the interaction of inflation, higher wage agreements and rising tax rates.
>> Read here: Lindner chief adviser Lars Feld: “It’s only really getting tough now”
Lindner has repeatedly made it clear that he wants to compensate for the cold progression, as has been the case in recent years. But in view of the high inflation, this is now more expensive, experts expect a volume of around twelve billion euros.
The SPD and the Greens therefore want to limit the correction to those on low and medium incomes and collect more from higher earners through the creeping tax increases.
Other ideas, such as an increase in the commuter allowance, are also controversial. Lindner has been open to this, the Greens are skeptical. The question of whether the nine-euro ticket for local public transport should be continued in a modified form also causes discord in the coalition.
debt brake
The question of financing is closely linked to the discussions about the next relief. While the grand coalition could still afford to simply implement the wishes of both government partners when in doubt, this is no longer possible.
The budget situation is tight. Although tax revenue is still increasing, interest expenditure in the budget is also increasing. And the way through higher debts is blocked – at least when Finance Minister Lindner has his way. He wants to limit the deficit to 18.2 billion euros in the coming year. This would mean that the federal government would comply with the debt brake for the first time after three exceptional years.
>> Read here: “I am the last dam”: Lindner decreed thrift at the traffic light
The cabinet has approved the draft, but the coalition partners still question the budget course. SPD leader Saskia Esken recently said: “I think we have to suspend the debt brake again.” The Greens are currently holding back publicly. But they are also making it clear behind closed doors that they do not believe in a return to the debt brake in the coming year.
If Lindner no longer wants to go into debt, parts of the SPD and the Greens will demand a tax increase for high incomes. They also advocate a so-called excess profit tax, with which energy companies that are particularly benefiting from the crisis should be asked to pay. The FDP rejects both.
The budget for the coming year is to be passed by the Bundestag at the end of November. Until then, the clashes are likely to continue.
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