Status: 07/18/2022 2:33 p.m
The Union has proposed a political barter: In return for longer nuclear power plant running times, one could agree to a speed limit. The FDP is still generally against a speed limit.
In view of the energy crisis, Union faction leader Jens Spahn has not ruled out a speed limit on motorways. “I can’t say with nuclear energy: Please no taboos, please put all ideologies aside, all options on the table, and then immediately set up bans on thinking again at the speed limit,” said the former Health Minister ARD morning magazine.
The speed limit makes a relatively small difference in energy consumption – “but if the Greens say that would be a national compromise, we use nuclear energy for half a year longer when there is a shortage, then I think we should also be able to talk about a speed limit.” In the national emergency, a good, joint package is needed in which everyone jumps over their shadow, Spahn demanded.
Union representatives are open
At the weekend, the CDU chairman in the climate protection committee, Thomas Gebhart, and party deputy Andreas Jung had already shown themselves open to a temporary speed limit. A general speed limit has been the subject of bitter arguments for years. As a result of the Ukraine war, it has now come back into focus – as a possible contribution to saving energy.
In the traffic light coalition, the FDP is opposed to such a limit, which it had already rejected in the coalition negotiations. Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently said: “This government has not agreed on that, and that’s why it’s not happening.”
FDP further against speed limit
FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr said: “We must do everything we can to close the impending gas gap. The extension of nuclear power plant runtimes can make a significant contribution to this, but not the speed limit.” He rejects “horse-trading” to introduce a speed limit.
His deputy Lukas Köhler also spoke out against a speed limit in BR. “In a situation in which it is all about generating electricity from gas and the question of whether we will have a gas shortage in winter, the speed limit doesn’t really matter,” he said. In order to generate as little gas as possible, a “longer running time of the nuclear power plants over the winter” is necessary.
The Greens have been campaigning for a speed limit for some time, and parts of the SPD are also in favor of it.
Majority of Germans for speed limit
Surveys show that a clear majority of Germans – even among car owners – are in favor of a temporary speed limit on the Autobahn. The federal states have also spoken out in favor of reducing dependency on fuel imports and protecting the environment.
Introduction of a temporary speed limit on motorways