Mainly due to the expiry of the tank discount and the very popular 9-euro ticket, Germans are waiting for new relief. SPD General Secretary Kühnert promises that they should come promptly. He also continues to advocate an excess profit tax, but also advocates more security for tenants.
SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert assumes that the traffic light government will reach agreement on new relief very soon. The impatience of the population is “totally understandable”, but “in a few days the new relief package will be on the table,” said Kühnert of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (NOZ).
It was always clear that the 9-euro ticket and tank discount would expire at the end of August, added Kühnert. “That’s why it’s all the more important that the third relief package should ideally be announced before the hammer falls next Thursday.” “Considerable and targeted relief is necessary, and it will come,” said the SPD politician.
Last but not least, the commuters deserve quick answers as to how things will continue from September, said Kühnert in the interview. “If the tank discount falls, fuel prices of two euros and more can be expected again. That’s simply too much for many people who are absolutely dependent on their car. That’s why there will be comprehensive support.” The negotiation will show whether that will be a higher distance allowance or direct payments to commuters with small and medium-sized incomes.
Despite resistance from the FDP to an excess profit tax, the SPD wants to continue fighting for such an instrument, according to Kühnert, with which the crisis-related additional profits from corporations are to be skimmed off. “The SPD in its entirety is in favor of fair participation by accidental crisis profiteers in order to cushion the equally accidental burdens on private households and industry,” said Kühnert of the NOZ. Many examples in Europe show that this can be implemented. “Such an instrument should therefore also be part of the third relief package,” demanded Kühnert.
The planned new relief package shouldn’t just be about money, said Kühnert: “We can also provide more security without spending a euro: a moratorium on terminating leases, avoiding electricity and gas cuts in winter, higher tenant protection in the event of rent increases: All of these measures cost the federal government nothing, but would take away at least some of the existential concerns of many people,” said Kühnert of the NOZ. “We not only need financial relief, but also mental relief.”
