According to economist Isabella Weber, the Iranian crisis threatens profound economic cuts for Germany. The professor, who teaches at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told Spiegel that inflation could quickly reach four to five percent, suggesting the situation could become significantly more painful. She noted that certain prices, such as those for plastics and their raw materials, have already risen, and “with the rest, it will happen quickly”. Weber warned that the price shock will impact the entire economy, with prices increasing much faster now than they can subsequently fall.
She added that the severity of the situation depends not only on the duration of the conflict and corporate price markups but also on how strongly and quickly policymakers intervene. Weber urged the government to act now, suggesting measures like an intelligent price cap on gasoline. She stated that the longer they wait, the more deeply the price shock will permeate the system. Having gained recognition as a co-developer of the gas price cap during the energy crisis of 2022/23, Weber commented that society has forgotten about the physical scarcity of oil since the 1970s. “In a situation like this, every measure must be taken”.
While Weber views the mandate, agreed upon by the Bundestag along with making price increases justifiable for mineral oil companies, as moving in the right direction, she argues that because antitrust proceedings could drag on for years, this measure cannot replace a price cap that can immediately remove market uncertainty during a crisis. Furthermore, Weber demanded that a portion of the windfall profits generated by large corporations should be “immediately” collected through a “super-profit tax”. She argued that “the worst times for humanity should not be the best times for the economy-especially in sectors that constitute critical infrastructure”.
