SPD General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf has called for a price cap on gasoline and diesel in response to the continued rise in fuel prices. Speaking to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”, he noted that neighboring countries often look upon Germany’s fuel price trends-especially in the wake of the Iran conflict-with suspicion. “To put it plainly: we are perceived as a paradise for mineral oil corporations,” Klüssendorf stated. He highlighted that countries like Luxembourg and Belgium implemented fuel price caps many years ago and decades ago; there, maximum prices are set in dialogue with the industry, a process made possible because authorities have insight into value chains and profits.
Conversely, Klüssendorf firmly rejected the idea of reviving the tax-funded fuel discount. He argued that the SPD can no longer support a system that allows the market to run free while corporations book additional profits and the state has to subsidize market losers. “It would be good for the country if we finally dealt with the truth as a society,” he emphasized, noting that the expectation that the state can compensate for all market failures with taxpayer money is unrealistic.
Stressing the need to ensure the affordability of life, Klüssendorf argued that instead of relying on market radicalism, the country requires robust regulatory and order-based solutions. He insisted that covering up undesirable and unacceptable market outcomes with social transfers and subsidies is no longer a viable future concept. Furthermore, he stressed that the so-called invisible hand cannot demonstrably manage these outcomes alone, seeing evidence of this everywhere. Therefore, he expressed strong support for fundamentally reviewing existing structures and rules.
