Despite the European Union’s decision, Dirk Wiese, the first parliamentary secretary of the SPD parliamentary group, remains committed to the plan for a super-profits tax targeting mineral oil corporations. Speaking to the news program “Welt” the SPD politician stated that the idea is solid and that the party will continue pursuing it with force. He pointed out that the entire federal government had backed the concept during the coalition committee meetings held the prior weekend, referencing a proposal put forth by Lars Klingbeil.
Wiese views the EU Commission’s decision, which was based on the lack of a unanimous vote required to introduce a special tax on inflated energy profits, not as an insurmountable obstacle. Critiquing the situation, he said, “The fact that unanimity in Brussels, which is necessary for this, has not been achieved in the first step can certainly be criticized. However, it does not mean that we should throw up our hands and stop pushing hard”. He added that sometimes politics requires pushing against solid resistance, declaring, “And I can assure you: we as the SPD can be very stubborn”.
When questioned about reports suggesting heated arguments between Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil (SPD) during the coalition meetings, and asked to assess the relationship between the two, Wiese stated that the explicit goal of the current federal government is to advance reforms. While acknowledging that friction is normal between differing political groups, he downplayed the severity of the reported conflict, noting, “Even if things get a little bumpy sometimes, that is natural; we are different parties. But this is not always immediately a huge fight”.
