Temperatures are falling, energy costs are rising – and nobody knows yet whether and how the planned “price brake” will work. Some people’s nerves are already on edge – even in the state parliament.
Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – The opposition parties have accused the government in North Rhine-Westphalia of not having any concepts against the galloping inflation and energy crisis. “As of today, there is not a single state political measure in North Rhine-Westphalia against the worst economic crisis in decades,” criticized SPD parliamentary group leader Thomas Kutschaty on Friday in the Düsseldorf state parliament. In contrast to many other state governments, the black-green coalition in North Rhine-Westphalia has not presented its own relief package.
FDP parliamentary group leader Henning Höne warned: “Waiting, hesitation, hesitation, saying no, pointing to the federal government and a lack of courage to initiate your own measures will cost North Rhine-Westphalia dearly.” The AfD MP Christian Loose even said that NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) should vacate his post as Prime Minister as a result of his “doing nothing”.
The CDU and Greens rejected the harsh allegations. In view of the war in Europe, “this tone and this behavior of the opposition factions are really inappropriate,” countered Green Party leader Verena Schäffer.
Wüst, who informed the state parliament about the results of the most recent Prime Ministers’ Conference (MPK) and the upcoming federal-state meeting on planned new aid, assured: “We will provide relief where we are responsible.” Before that, however, there are still many questions to be answered about the federal government’s “defense shield” of up to 200 billion euros. Only when it is clear what that means in concrete terms can the country initiate its own measures in a targeted manner.
Schäffer also emphasized that the state government would fill in the remaining gaps in the support concepts. In this crisis situation, however, it is not about an “outbidding competition to see who will be the fastest to announce the largest relief packages”. In fact, much remains open in the case of the opposition’s own aid measures in other federal states.
Wüst promised: “The social infrastructure and the daycare centers, the schools and the universities will remain open and they will stay warm. After two years of the pandemic, we cannot expect our children to do anything else and we will not do it either.” They should not be the victims of the crisis again. The same applies to sport and culture.
He assumes that the federal government will at least roughly quantify the magnitude of the expected energy costs for private households and companies at the upcoming federal-state talks on Tuesday, said Wüst, who is now handing over the chairmanship of the MPK to Lower Saxony.
“People now need to know quickly what a warm home costs in autumn and winter,” emphasized Wüst. A warm apartment, a full fridge for the family and the way to work should not become a luxury, despite rising fuel, energy and food prices.
Kutschaty called for families to be relieved and fees for kindergartens and all-day offers to be abolished, free lunches to be offered in daycare centers and schools or free tickets for children and young people for buses and trains to be introduced.
CDU parliamentary group leader Thorsten Schick said it was very clear that the state government would also introduce its own relief for kindergartens, schools, universities, sports clubs and culture. However, this requires sufficient financial leeway and thus a fair distribution of the burden between the federal, state and local governments. That’s what Tuesday is about.
Schäffer indicated that the loan-financed special fund planned by the federal government for the defense shield while complying with the debt brake in 2023 may not be sufficient to overcome the multiple crisis. Höne signaled a non-partisan willingness to talk if additional money was also needed in NRW.
Loose argued that the energy crisis and price increases were not solely due to Russia, but were also due to the energy transition initiated in Germany. The AfD politician called for all available domestic energy sources and reserves to be used.
