Heating law, industrial electricity, basic child security – the traffic light coalition has recently argued a lot. Whether the cabinet meeting in Meseberg will bring more unity tomorrow is an open question. The parliamentary groups of the SPD and the Greens meet in advance.
Shortly before their retreat at Schloss Meseberg, the traffic light government agreed on the controversial issue of basic child security, but there is still disagreement on other points. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil had burst his collar just under a week earlier. “It doesn’t work that way. Period,” he said. He had imagined the start after the summer break differently, he told ZDF.
The conflicts have dragged on for months. Even before the summer break, the coalition partners had repeatedly argued. SPD, Greens and FDP had actually planned to return from the summer more quietly. But it was a false start. “The coalition is difficult, that shouldn’t surprise anyone. The three parties have completely different programs,” said Federal Minister of Finance and FDP leader Christian Lindner in the ZDF summer interview.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz tried to be more united in the traffic light government at the weekend. When asked whether the mutual legal blockades would continue, he told the Bayern media group: “I can only warn against that.” He also said: “We should focus more on highlighting the successes of the government’s activities and having the necessary discussions about our projects internally.”
SPD and Green factions meet in advance
First of all, the SPD parliamentary group will meet this Monday and Tuesday in Wiesbaden – the parliamentary group of the Greens will meet in Berlin at the same time. The SPD parliamentary group is primarily concerned with a state-subsidized industrial electricity price. The members of the parliamentary group, which also includes Scholz, want to decide on a concrete concept. The leadership of the parliamentary group proposes a price of five cents per kilowatt hour, limited to at least five years, for companies that are particularly hard hit by high energy costs. Scholz has so far expressed skepticism about state aid. He now has to show his colors in the exam. The topic harbors new potential for conflict for the traffic light. The FDP rejects the subsidy, the Greens are in favor.
Another proposed resolution for the SPD retreat deals with the subject of housing. There is talk of a “nationwide rent freeze”. Specifically, it is required that rents in tense residential areas should not increase by more than six percent in three years and also not exceed the local comparative rent.
Greens call for reforms because of rising rents
In view of rising rents, Green Party leader Katharina Dröge is calling for the reforms announced in the coalition agreement with the SPD and FDP to be speeded up. “The extension of the rental price brake, the significant reduction in the cap limit and the clear regulation of index rents are urgently needed,” she told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
Rents have risen enormously and are increasingly pushing people on low and middle incomes to their breaking point. “Nevertheless, we have been waiting for the implementation of the coalition agreement on affordable rents for 1.5 years.”
rent control should be extended
In the coalition agreement, the traffic light parties had agreed to extend the rental price brake until 2029 and to lower the cap on rent increases to eleven percent in three years. There is currently a limit for rent increases of 20 percent in three years. In areas with a tight housing market, it is 15 percent.
Plans to limit index rents are not mentioned in the coalition agreement. Indexed leases allow landlords to increase rents annually as consumer prices rise. The Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP), who is responsible for the topic, has so far spoken out against a restriction on index rents. The subject also finds approval in the SPD.
With information from Oliver Neuroth, ARD capital studio