Heidi Reichinnek, the chair of the Left parliamentary group in the Bundestag, has criticized the reintroduction of the fuel discount, asserting that it only demonstrates “that the oil conglomerates are able to get away with whatever they want from the federal government,” she told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland.
This critique follows recent fluctuations in gasoline prices. A day earlier, fuel prices had risen by up to 30 cents, followed by a decrease overnight after a tax cut took effect-though the resulting prices were nowhere near the previous levels. Past investigations into the tank discount period already hinted at what is now evident: a significant portion of the revenue ended up in the hands of the oil corporations.
Reichinnek added that instead of putting an end to the “robbery at the petrol station,” the Merz government is merely giving “more money to the oil multinationals.” She argues that effective measures already exist. She proposes capping profit margins throughout the entire supply chain and using a windfall tax to recoup corporate profits generated during the crisis.
Implementing these measures, she suggests, would allow for a socially just energy crisis payment and would finally make it possible to reintroduce the 9-Euro ticket. Instead, Reichinnek claims that by increasing the price of the Deutschlandticket to 66.80 euros, the government is turning mobility “more and more into a luxury good.”
