Calls for stronger regulation of high fuel prices are growing within the SPD party. Isabel Cademartori, the party’s traffic policy spokesperson, told Spiegel that the faction has long advocated for a price cap. “For a long time, we have been calling for a price cap,” she stated, noting that “many of our neighboring countries successfully implement this.” This stance follows a call by Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s Minister-President, Manuela Schwesig (SPD), for similar price controls.
Cademartori also leveled severe accusations against the oil and gas corporations. “The mineral oil companies have lied to our faces,” she claimed. “They acted as if there would be no excessive profits. Now we are seeing record profits in the second quarter. The companies have made a massive fortune.”
The SPD politician was part of a Bundestag task force that met with representatives from the oil giants BP and Shell in March. Even then, Cademartori criticized the industry representatives for their “audacious” behavior. She argued that the companies failed to adequately explain why price increases derived from raw oil market fluctuations were immediately passed on to end consumers, while price reductions were not.
The federal government has already implemented measures to stabilize high prices, including the so-called twelve-hour rule, which limits any price increases to only one time per day.
“The twelve-hour rule is intended primarily to bring more transparency,” Cademartori explained, “but it does not solve the problem by itself.”
Like Schwesig, she is advocating for taxation on excessive profits. “I am absolutely in favor of a windfall tax, even nationally if necessary,” the traffic policy expert urged. She also called on the Chancellor, stating that Friedrich Merz (CDU) had a duty to act. “The Chancellor must get involved. I don’t understand why the Union is protecting these completely unjustified profits.”
