“We should have done more”
Merz complains of meager relief
9/4/2022 6:52 p.m
The leader of the opposition in the Bundestag finds quite a few things right in the traffic light relief package. However, more should have been done for one population group, according to CDU leader Merz. He is also unimpressed by the scope of the measures, which just compensated for the federal government’s additional tax revenue.
The CDU chairman Friedrich Merz has criticized the third relief package of the traffic light coalition as insufficient. It is true that pensioners and students are included in the energy price flat rate, said Merz in the ARD summer interview. But whether it’s really enough for those who are just above the housing allowance limit and above the social assistance rates, that has to be seen. “You should have done more for those who are just above the borders,” said Merz, who is also the leader of the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag.
He also believes that the German economy will complain massively in the next few days “that they are not being thought of. And the economy, it’s not the large corporations, it’s the many hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized companies that make up this country keep going.” These would be neglected by the coalition. The question of where our energy should come from in the coming weeks, months and years is also completely ignored, said the CDU leader. “You’re avoiding this question. And I think that’s a serious mistake.” An extension of the lifetime of nuclear power plants is necessary.
The traffic light coalition had previously presented its third relief package, the size of which the government put at around 65 billion euros. Among other things, private households should receive the amount of electricity for basic consumption at a discounted price. Pensioners are to receive a one-time energy price lump sum of 300 euros as of December 1st. Students and vocational school students should receive a one-time payment of 200 euros. With the further development of the current Hartz IV system planned for January 1st, those in need should receive a standard rate of 50 euros higher – around 500 euros a month.
Merz emphasized that Germany will receive 50 billion euros more in VAT this year alone. In addition, there would be additional income of 10 to 15 billion euros from income tax. “So the federal government is just compensating for what it has recorded in higher tax revenues during the crisis, in some cases even as a result of the crisis.”