In an acute crisis, you have to act urgently, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) justified taking out loans in the energy crisis. The prices for gas and electricity are to be capped, but the controversial gas levy for all gas customers is not coming after all. Showing strength is particularly important in view of the Ukraine war, said Scholz.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has justified plans by the federal government to take out further loans for a multi-billion dollar aid package to deal with the energy crisis. “This is an acute crisis, you have to act urgently,” said the SPD politician on Thursday on ZDF “heute journal”. The prices are too high and need to go down. “Since we’ve always managed well, (…) we can do what we’ve often done in such situations: take out loans in the crisis situation,” said Scholz.
The traffic light coalition had previously presented plans for a new “defense shield” to support people in Germany in the face of escalating energy prices and inflation. The planned aid package has a volume of up to 200 billion euros. The prices for gas and electricity are to be capped, but the controversial gas levy for all gas customers is not coming after all. In the “heute journal” Scholz said that in view of the war in Ukraine it was particularly important that “we show all the strength we have.”
