Schwesig wants energy price caps
State leaders are demanding more money from the federal government for relief
09/28/2022, 10:42 am
The dispute over the distribution of costs for the relief package continues. North Rhine-Westphalia’s state chief Wüst is now following suit and calling for a “fair distribution of the burden” in order to get through the crisis well. Meanwhile, Manuela Schwesig is calling for an energy price cap for up to two years.
Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst has asked the federal government to distribute the costs for further relief because of the energy crisis fairly. “We will get through this crisis together if we get a fair distribution of the burden now,” said the head of government of North Rhine-Westphalia in the ARD “Morgenmagazin”. The states would reach out to the federal government for this purpose.
The federal, state and local governments all have a shared responsibility to get people through the fall and winter well, said Wüst. It is about tackling the problems at the root – i.e. curbing prices and using all available generation capacities for electricity, added the CDU politician.
“We have to ensure that the schools are warm, the universities are warm, the daycare centers are warm. The federal government will not take that away from us. And we still need leeway for that, we need air for that,” emphasized Wüst. The federal government failed to speak to the municipalities and states beforehand.
Schwesig wants to cap energy for one to two years
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig, is continuing to advocate for an energy price cap. In an interview with NDR Info, with a view to reducing the burden on citizens, she demanded: “My goal is therefore that we agree on an energy price cap and approach the federal government with this proposal”. The head of state in the north-east also set a deadline for the federal government: this week the federal government should agree on an energy price cap with the federal states limited to up to two years. In this way, Schwesig wants to ensure planning security and affordability.
Before the state meeting, Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder was less forgiving towards the federal government. He was “disappointed” with the entire federal government so far, he told Bayerischer Rundfunk. The federal government’s concept for the relief is “more country-unfriendly than ever, not at all cooperative”. In view of the crisis, this is the completely wrong approach. “The federal government makes bills, but does not pay them, but sends them to the states,” added Söder. Among other things, he called for an end to the gas levy and more money for local public transport.
Under Wüst’s direction, the heads of government of the federal states will discuss the crisis situation on Wednesday afternoon. A conference with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz was originally planned after the country talks, which was supposed to deal with the distribution of costs. However, due to the Chancellor’s corona infection, the big round was postponed to Tuesday next week at short notice.