Manuela Schwesig, the Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (SPD), has called for an extension of the fuel discount, which is set to expire on July 1st. In an interview with the “Tagesspiegel”, she stated that the subsidy must remain in effect for as long as fuel prices remain at their current high levels.
This position contradicts that of Armand Zorn, the SPD’s Deputy Faction Leader, who is co-chairing the relevant coalition taskforce alongside Sepp Müller (CDU). Zorn had previously argued against an extension during a broadcast on ARD’s morning magazine. Furthermore, Matthias Miersch, the leader of the SPD parliamentary group, recently told the “Augsburger Allgemeine” that continuous subsidy use was not a sustainable solution.
During today’s coalition taskforce meeting, no recommendation regarding an extension was decided upon. However, Zorn and Müller did not rule out further possibilities afterward. Schwesig also urged that the possibility of implementing a price cap, similar to the model used in Luxembourg, should be considered.
