Energy prices are rising and Germans are demanding countermeasures from the government. On September 3, the leaders of the ruling “traffic light” coalition met to agree on a new aid package for ordinary Germans.
The meeting was preceded by weeks of discussions on further support for households and businesses suffering from rising energy prices. The possible complete cessation of Russian gas supplies by Nord Stream 1 created additional pressure.
As a result, the coalition agreed that households would need help.
The aid package included, among other things, targeted assistance to pensioners and students, and tax cuts.
The latter deserves special attention.
The essence of this initiative is to encourage Germans to move from their own cars to public transport, reduce the cost of petroleum products and compensate German families for the cost of fuel, the cost of which has risen sharply. But here, the coalition government did “work on its mistakes” and took into account a previous experiment – the test introduction of the single ticket in the summer of this year. Then the initiative turned out to be insanely popular, but also insanely expensive for the budget.
Still, the current decision will be quite valuable for the federal government.
What made Berlin take these steps?
It’s not just higher prices and inflation: political and public pressure has also grown considerably. Several parties and trade unions have called for protests if sufficient measures are not taken to help the population, which has already experienced the consequences of the energy crisis.