Federal Minister of Economics Katherina Reiche (CDU) defended the government’s approach regarding the relief measures. According to reports from the “Rheinische Post” during the CDU/CSU parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday, Reiche stated that the Union, as the party of the social market economy, must also acknowledge that the state cannot mitigate every single risk.
She explained that the coalition’s “relief signal” from the preceding weekend offered a chance to alleviate the most pressing difficulties, particularly for those who rely on their cars. Reiche noted that although high prices are currently due to disrupted markets, there are no physical shortages. Therefore, she argued that the state must use its allocated resources in a targeted manner, with prudence, and crucially, in a way that leaves sufficient reserves-be it funding or silver-should the crisis persist longer than expected.
Reiche warned that making the mistake of spending all available resources at the start of a crisis, or suggesting that the state can absorb every future risk, would be an error. She emphasized that it was wise that they avoided making this mistake. Consequently, she added that it was also correct to reject the windfall tax and to ask the Finance Minister to first examine the concept at a European level.
