At 11 a.m. on this last day in August, it is planned that three men will walk along the gravel path in front of a castle in Brandenburg and stop in front of three microphones that have been set up beforehand. They will speak into these microphones what they have worked on over the past two days. The three men are under pressure to deliver. And they are under pressure to dispel the impression that they are at odds and working more against each other than with each other.
The three pillars of the traffic light coalition will stand in the garden of Schloss Meseberg against a baroque backdrop: Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz from the SPD, Economics Minister Robert Habeck from the Greens and Finance Minister Christian Lindner from the FDP.
The most important message that they now have to get across is: Yes, there will be relief for the citizens who are suffering from the exorbitant rise in energy prices, and specifically – unlike previous relief packages – specifically for those people in Germany who 50, 60, 70 euros more in the monthly advance payment to the public utility represent a heavy burden, perhaps even a financial catastrophe.
One problem for Scholz and his cabinet is that although it can make decisions, group meetings are also taking place in the three traffic light parties this week. The Greens have been meeting since the beginning of the week, the FDP will start deliberations on Wednesday, the SPD on Thursday, and a meeting of the coalition committee is scheduled for the weekend, the informal body that has so far been in all coalitions of the Berlin Republic (whether in the Red or Red -Green, Black-Yellow or in the grand coalitions under Angela Merkel) was the actual power center of the government. So Scholz and his team can announce plans and decisions. But in case of doubt, the coalition committee will have the last word, especially if there are differences of opinion between the partners, as is currently the case.
Nevertheless: Scholz, Habeck and Lindner have to present something this Wednesday, otherwise the criticism of the government should be even louder than it already is.
Habeck, who is particularly criticized for the gas allocation that was designed in a great hurry in his ministry and, according to many observers, is tainted with technical errors, has already announced several improvements, most recently when he spoke in Meseberg on Tuesday afternoon. It will ensure that companies that make large profits do not benefit from the levy. Or in Habeck’s words: “The free riders will be pushed off the board”. Companies would have to prove that they are systemically important in Germany and that they also had a very large proportion of Russian gas in their portfolio that was difficult to replace. In addition, companies that seek help are no longer allowed to pay bonuses and distribute dividends.
On Tuesday evening, when the exam was still in full swing, Lindner also spoke in an interview on the ARD “Tagesthemen” and announced something like a water level. The FDP boss, who has so far been rather cautious about further relief, made it clear that there is still room for maneuver in the 2022 budget and that there are even possibilities for relief “of a considerable magnitude” in the coming year.
The finance minister outlined the first outlines of what the government could decide. There will be a mix of measures: On the one hand, help for people who need special support. The FDP wants to achieve a major housing benefit reform and a reform of Hartz IV in the direction of citizen benefits. The SPD and the Greens are also calling for this. On the other hand, he wanted to rule out automatic tax increases for the working middle class in order to combat cold progression. This is a proposal that has come from the FDP for a long time, but which the other two coalition partners find less important. Schliesslich wants to focus on Lindner, pensioners and students. In other words, those groups who, for example, will now get nothing in September when the 300 euro energy flat rate is paid out, which only goes to the employed.
Lindner also said one sentence about the schedule: at the latest before the budget deliberations in the Bundestag in the coming week, there will be clarity. Scholz had previously announced that a decision on the relief would be made very quickly.
That sounds almost as if the coalition were in agreement.