In order to overcome the energy crisis, SPD politician Michael Roth has spoken out in favor of targeted financial subsidies, which are primarily intended to help people on low incomes. Tax relief, on the other hand, is not a good idea, he said on Tuesday evening at Markus Lanz on ZDF.
The SPD politician Michael Roth spoke out in favor of targeted services in overcoming the current energy crisis. This should primarily support people with low and middle incomes. On the other hand, he was skeptical about tax relief, said the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag on Tuesday evening on the ZDF program Markus Lanz.
He explained his reservations that people on low incomes also pay low taxes. Above all, the federal government must now help pensioners. "We have to make far-reaching decisions very quickly. That's why things are so emotional in the coalition. And I think that's completely fine," said the SPD politician. That will be expensive, "but this is about social peace," says Roth.
Germany is in an exceptional situation, the usual measures would not help. Roth: "I think it's okay that the chancellor is trying to keep the coalition together in this situation, because a coalition that seems like a raging flock of chickens isn't able to provide the degree of security that the citizens need."
Roth again demanded that Germany free itself from the economic dependence of totalitarian states such as Russia and China. In this context, he criticized the fact that Germany had still not concluded a trade agreement with Canada. An agreement with the United States must also be discussed again. The TTIP trade agreement between the European Union and the United States recently failed because it was also supposed to include the supply of hormone-treated meat from the United States.
However, changing trade relations is not easy. Roth: "This is associated with a painful restructuring process." Europe must strengthen itself with other partners, but it must also open up. "We have to go through a painful learning process."
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Economics Minister Robert Habeck have now agreed long-term cooperation with Canada on the production and delivery of climate-neutral hydrogen. The contract provides for deliveries to Germany from 2025.
