Manuela Schwesig, the Minister President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has called for the implementation of a short-term price cap on gasoline. Speaking to the “Berlin Playbook” podcast from “Politico,” she stated that she favors this intervention. She pointed to Luxembourg as a model, noting that while Luxembourg is not a communist state, it does maintain a price cap. She also mentioned that Poland recently lowered its fuel prices “massively” through tax reductions.
In addition to the price cap, Schwesig proposed funding the measure through an “excess profit tax.” She argued that this mechanism is not new, recalling that even the FDP Finance Minister introduced a profit tax during the energy crisis of 2022/2023. She claimed that calculating this tax is relatively easy, suggesting that companies could be taxed on last year’s profits. Schwesig highlighted how major corporations are currently making additional profits of “30 million extra,” emphasizing that this occurs daily, not monthly or weekly. She questioned why working-class citizens, skilled tradespeople, and small businesses should be forced to pay for these “extra profits of corporations,” asserting that this disproportionately affects ordinary people.
This position aligns with a recent advocacy effort led by SPD leader Lars Klingbeil, which suggested replacing fuel discounts with a combination of an excess profit tax and a price cap. Schwesig supported this shift, stating that it would be the fairer approach, preventing “five corporations from making their profits at the expense of the rest of the German economy, especially small and medium enterprises.” Given that 90 percent of businesses in the region employ fewer than 20 people, she argued that these smaller businesses cannot continuously subsidize the massive profits earned by large corporations.
As another potential lever, Schwesig pointed to the green energy produced within Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The region generates significantly more renewable electricity from offshore wind farms along the Baltic Sea than it consumes, at generation costs of approximately 0.05 euros per kilowatt-hour. She advocated for this cheap renewable energy to be extended to the entire German economy and its population.
Finally, Schwesig criticized Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Economic Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) for opposing both the excess profit tax and the price cap. While acknowledging their right to disagree, Schwesig pressured them, stating, “Herr Merz and Frau Reiche say no to it, and they are free to say no. But then they have to offer a different response. I cannot always say no to everything and have nothing happen.”
