faq
The tug-of-war over the heating law is one revolution richer. The traffic light schedule was thwarted by the Supreme Court. The coalition is in bad shape, the Union is rejoicing. How to proceed – an overview.
the initial situation
After weeks of wrangling, the traffic light coalition wanted to pass the heating law with its majority on Friday, the very last day of regular sittings before the summer break. The final version of the complex draft law had been available to MPs since the end of last week. Parliamentarians, especially those in the opposition, were outraged that this was far too little time.
Shortly before, a member of parliament had turned on the Federal Constitutional Court. Thomas Heilmann from the CDU, a member of the Committee for Climate Protection and Energy, wanted to use an interim order to stop the vote on the heating law before the summer break. With success. Late on Wednesday evening, the judges in Karlsruhe decided that the Bundestag was no longer allowed to discuss and vote on the law this week.
How does the court justify its decision?
CDU politician Heilmann saw his rights as a member of parliament violated by the legislative process, specifically by the maximum shortened consultation time.
The Constitutional Court has now declared that Heilmann’s main application in the organ dispute proceedings appears neither inadmissible from the outset nor obviously unfounded in view of his right to equal participation in parliamentary decision-making under Article 38 of the Basic Law. “The deputies not only have the right to vote in the German Bundestag, but also the right to deliberate.”
The assessment of the consequences led to the result “that the reasons for issuing a temporary injunction prevail”. The interest in avoiding an irreversible violation of participation rights outweighs the intervention in the procedural autonomy of the Bundestag, which merely delays legislation.
The decision was made in the Second Senate by a vote of five to two.
Does that mean the law is off the table?
No. The court did not decide on the content of the Building Energy Act, only on the parliamentary consultation process. CDU politician Heilmann had also emphasized that his visit to Karlsruhe was “expressly not directed against the substantive goal of the law, but against the very inadequate parliamentary procedure”. Voices are now being raised from the CDU to fundamentally revise the law – but it seems unlikely that this will happen. After all, the traffic light has tormented itself extremely laboriously to the current version.
How does it go from here?
There are now two options for the further procedure: either the Bundestag meets for a special session during the summer break, which actually begins after this Friday – or the decision is postponed until September, when the Bundestag will meet again regularly. Being called out of the summer break for the heating law is unlikely to meet with much enthusiasm among MPs. The traffic light groups are currently discussing their further course of action.
What does that mean for the traffic light coalition?
For the traffic light, the decision from Karlsruhe is a political defeat and another turn in the endless drama surrounding the heating law. The project was ill-fated from the start. The first draft from the house of climate protection minister Robert Habeck and building minister Klara Geywitz caused wide-ranging discussions and even loud outrage. Habeck’s “heating hammer” made the rounds in the media. Weeks of arguments within the coalition followed, some of which took place on the open stage.
The FDP in particular raised concerns. The cabinet approved the draft, but before the first reading in the Bundestag, the traffic light agreed on further changes, which they recorded in partly vaguely formulated “guard rails” until a final version was available at the end of June. But even the agreement could hardly hide the fact that the three-party coalition is in a desolate state.
Above all, the FDP and the Greens are at odds, not only with the heating law, by the way – and also let the public participate intensively in it. See basic child security or parental allowance. The Chancellor’s party seems strangely indifferent at times, and Olaf Scholz has also been accused of letting the quarrels go on for too long. As if none of this had anything to do with him.
In short: the self-proclaimed “progress coalition” apparently dragged itself towards the summer break. Probably also in the hope of being rested and recovered to find a good togetherness again afterwards. Especially since the reputation of the government has suffered extremely, the polls are showing record lows, and the loss of confidence in politics is massive. The tussle over the heating law has contributed significantly to this development. Now more allegations and recriminations are likely to follow. FDP Vice Wolfgang Kubicki has already presented: The decision from Karlsruhe is “the deserved acknowledgment for the Greens, who put an inexplicable pressure on this process,” he said.
How is the opposition reacting?
The Union feels confirmed after the decision from Karlsruhe. After all, it is a political success, if only because it makes the traffic light government look bad. However, the Union faction did not go to Karlsruhe. That was the sole concern of Deputy Heilmann.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz spoke of a “severe defeat for the federal government by Chancellor Scholz”, and of a “resounding slap in the face” by CSU general secretary Martin Huber and left-wing parliamentary group leader Dietmar Bartsch. The traffic light should “finally stamp out the botch law,” advised CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt.
What does the heating law actually say?
The draft law provides that from 2024 onward, every newly installed heating system must be operated with at least 65 percent green energy. This is intended to advance the heat transition – as a contribution to achieving climate protection goals. Almost half of the approximately 41 million households currently heat with natural gas, and another quarter with heating oil. However, no functioning oil and gas heating systems should have to be replaced. In addition, defective heaters should be allowed to be repaired.
If the law is passed by the Bundestag during the summer break or afterwards, it should come into force on January 1, 2024. So there would be enough time, even if it wasn’t launched until September.