In Bavaria, 500 million euros more than originally planned are to flow into the hardship fund. Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) announced this on Sunday after a closed conference in Munich. The total amount of the relief package now amounts to 1.5 billion euros. These are “important decisions for the winter,” said Söder. In addition to medium-sized companies, associations, care and social institutions and private schools, private households should now also be able to benefit from the aid if they get into trouble due to rising energy prices. In addition, they want to use the money to become less dependent on fossil fuels and to recruit new staff in the right places.
The relief package comes mainly at the urging of the opposition in the Bavarian state parliament, which has long been demanding additional security from the state government to secure the federal hardship fund. Details of exactly how the federal government will proceed are so far unclear and therefore also how Bavaria will deal with the money. The sum is now anchored in the budget, but nothing more. Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger from the Free Voters also announced that the money would not be paid out before January or possibly even later.
The opposition in the Bavarian state parliament is dissatisfied with the state government’s plans. . “The Bavarian hardship fund must come this year, otherwise it will not have any effect,” said FDP politician Helmut Kaltenhauser to BR24, for example. If the money didn’t come until after January, it would be too late, many of his opposition colleagues also criticized. “When companies and citizens are bankrupt, no more help is needed.”
The SPD chairman Florian von Brunn was disappointed with the vague plans. The CSU and Free Voters could have used the time to develop their own plans instead of criticizing those of the federal government. You have to invest more in infrastructure, wind power and geothermal energy so that it doesn’t end up becoming even more expensive. Claudia Köhler from the Greens agreed. But it also takes action and not just words, according to Köhler.