After the industrial summits of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the counter-events of the former FDP finance minister Christian Lindner, Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) hosted the event in Berlin on Tuesday for a change. The “Alliance for the Future of Industry” consisting of politicians, industrial associations and unions met for the seventh time since 2015. In view of the job cuts plans of companies such as Thyssenkrupp, Volkswagen, Bosch, ZF and others, the conference had a special significance this year. If Habeck had his way, the Bundestag should cover the companies’ energy costs through a federal subsidy before the new elections on February 23rd Dampen network charges. The best way to do this would be a supplementary budget for 2024, said Habeck. The money could come from the climate and transformation fund. The billions reserved there for Intel are not needed for the time being because the company has put plans to build a factory in Magdeburg on hold. But there are also other legal options for such a subsidy, said Habeck. The federal government will seek talks with the “democratic opposition”. The companies needed a “reliable announcement” about network charges. “We are really running against the clock.”Russwurm: Subsidies are needed “immediately” The Federation of German Industries (BDI) and IG Metall also increased the pressure. Companies rely on internationally competitive electricity costs, said BDI President Siegfried Russwurm. This is only possible through a “significant government subsidy”, “immediately”. He also called for the improvement of depreciation options and an increase in the tax allowance for research. The cabinet had agreed on both before the traffic lights went off, but there has not yet been a resolution from the Bundestag. The second chairman of IG Metall, Jürgen Kerner, said about the relief required for companies: “We expect the CDU/CSU to take responsibility. “Jump over your shadow (…) and take responsibility.” The Union is building walls. However, the Union is not thinking about fulfilling the wishes addressed to it: “The traffic lights have massively damaged Germany as a location. We will not support the remaining red-green government in its hectic panic at the end of the day,” said Union parliamentary group vice-president Jens Spahn to the F.A.Z. “Germany needs a real economic turnaround and a stable government that will regain trust. This requires new majorities. The citizens decide what happens next, not Mr. Habeck.” The Union’s economic policy spokeswoman, Julia Klöckner, attested that the federal government, which is still in office, had “inconclusive peak inflation.” Habeck, who is running as candidate for chancellor for the Greens, commented on this the event in the Berlin Gasometer was also self-critical. The measures adopted by the traffic light coalition “did not come close to the size of the problems we have to deal with”. He continued: “We should have responded to the Russian attack on Ukraine with a large economic stimulus package.” There is a need for a “reliable” reduction in electricity costs for companies. Habeck wants to move away from the debt brake in the medium term. Currently, the debate is primarily centered around network charges the price of electricity. They are used to finance the expansion and stabilization of the electricity grid necessary for the supply of renewable energy. Habeck had to cancel the federal subsidy of more than five billion euros planned for 2024 after the Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling. “It is systematically necessary to halve network fees over the next ten years,” he said on Tuesday. Habeck also called for the law on the construction of new gas power plants and the points from the growth initiative to be passed in the Bundestag before the election. “The problems will not go away if a new election takes place.” In the medium term, the Green politician believes that a loosening of the debt brake is inevitable. One cannot hide behind “decisions that were made fifteen years ago in another world, in another time.” The debt brake introduced in 2009 limits the amount of new debt to 0.35 percent of gross domestic product. In addition to energy costs, there are even more problems. Habeck received support from Moritz Schularick, President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW). In the short term, there is no way around taking out more loans, he says. Schularick reported at the event that automobile production in Germany is now a third below the 2017 level. There is also a “second China shock: In the last few months, for the first time, Germany has exported more to Poland than to China.” More on the topic Energy costs are not a problem in every industry; in mechanical engineering they play a subordinate role. The question of skilled workers is more important. Unlike Germany, America is not trying to stop structural change. “We are perhaps a little too proud of our short-time work,” said Schularick. Simone Menne of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany noted “a different mindset” in the United States. Despite inadequate childcare options, women worked more there.
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