Energy talk at Illner
“It can’t go well for weeks”
By Marko Schlichting
9/16/2022 4:52 am
Energy prices have to come down. A commission of experts is to present appropriate proposals in October. One of the heads of the commission is the president of the industry association BDI, Siegfried Russwurm. He is one of the guests of Maybrit Illner on ZDF on Thursday evening.
There is no argument on Thursday evening on ZDF. Maybrit Illner had invited guests from politics and business to her talk show. Your topics: The energy crisis, company bankruptcies, economic decline – and what you can do about it. BDI President Siegfried Russwurm describes the results of a survey conducted by the industry association among German companies as “scary”. A third of the companies surveyed see themselves in an existential crisis, 58 percent say they are under existential pressure. The bankruptcy wave is rolling. Last August alone, 718 companies had to file for insolvency. Best-known company: The toilet paper manufacturer Hakle.
“A Crisis We’ve Never Had Before”
Retail companies in particular have “a huge mountain ahead of them,” says Green Party politician Katrin Göring-Eckardt, who has spoken to many bakers in her constituency in recent days. Not only do they have problems with high electricity and gas prices, but also with the increase in the minimum wage in October. As a result, other salaries also have to be adjusted. Although the bakers welcomed the proposed electricity price brake, they need help immediately, says Göring-Eckardt. “We have a crisis that we have never had before,” she says. It is therefore good that the federal government’s third aid package is being further developed. “And if that’s not enough, we’ll do a fourth,” said the politician.
Siegfried Russwurm agrees that energy prices in Germany are too high. Together with two experts, he is to head a commission that will advise the federal government on lowering energy prices and will present appropriate proposals in October. According to Russwurm, many companies have already relocated their production abroad because they can no longer afford the energy costs in Germany. At the same time, 40 percent of companies are reluctant to make the necessary investments because of the currently uncertain prospects. Many of them did not go bankrupt, Russwurm confirms statements by Economics Minister Habeck last week. “Retailers pay all the bills, sell the car and their counter, and rent out the shop.”
“Not only companies are up to their necks, but also private citizens,” says DGB chairwoman Yasmin Fahimi, describing the current situation. She also wants to achieve a reduction in energy prices. They are the main driver of inflation and recession. “There are no economic industry debates that help, you have to get to the root of the problem.”
The government is helping, praises the Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig from the SPD. However, the economy must continue to be supported, for example with an energy price cap limited to one or two years. At the same time, she calls for not stopping at raising the minimum wage. “We want higher wages and we want a good social system.” In addition, the minister demands that the expansion of renewable energies be accelerated.
And then FDP Vice Johannes Vogel also joins in this chorus: reform of the electricity market and the energy mix, support for citizens and business. Only when he says the word “nuclear energy” does the presenter block it. There’s no room for that on the show tonight.
The tiny difference of opinion
The difference of opinion in this choir of unity has to be searched for. They exist when the conversation turns to tax and duty-free benefits of up to 3,000 euros, which employers can pay as a one-off bonus to relieve employees. That could be difficult for companies that “have their backs to the wall,” says Russwurm. He proposes a regulation according to which companies do not have to pay this sum all at once. Fahimi makes it clear that this should be addressed in the forthcoming collective bargaining. You could regulate something like this via opening clauses in the collective agreements.
This unity is rare on a talk show. But it is important in the current crisis. In the end, only Manuela Schwesig voiced mild criticism because the commission of experts set up by the federal government would not present its proposals until October. “It has to be done quickly,” she says, “I don’t think it will go well for weeks.”