The devil is in the details, but the chairmen of the three coalition parties SPD, Greens and FDP no longer had time for such trifles given the exhausting long-term deliberations. There will not be such a strict ban on gas stoves as the Greens are calling for, but how exactly Germany’s apartments are to be heated in the future remained vague – as did the financing of the conversions, the shifting of investments to tenants or the definition of “technology openness”. Instead, there were cloudy promises: “We will combine road construction with climate protection” or “Nobody will be left in the lurch”.
Also read: The most important decisions of the coalition committee
Whether short-time work benefits, corona aid or gas price brakes – experience teaches that general political promises are enormously expensive. Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner assures that the necessary funds for the implementation of the climate law will come from the climate protection fund. However, this is not a fortune, but just another authorization to incur debts. How the regular budget should meet the conditions of the debt brake in view of the countless wishes has also remained a mystery. It will probably be necessary to meet again very soon for new night sessions.
This article comes from the WiWo newsletter Daily Punch. The newsletter delivers the daily comments from the WiWo editorial team to your inbox. Always to the point, always with punch. Also in the punch: an overview of the five most important topics of the day. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.