Olaf Scholz has been to the federal press conference 33 times. Now he is coming as chancellor for the first time and is continuing the tradition of his predecessor’s summer press conferences. He gets tight-lipped on one subject.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has again assured the people of Germany of support in the face of the burdens of high inflation. “We will do everything to ensure that the citizens get through this difficult time,” said the SPD politician at his summer press conference in Berlin.
He promised massive further help, including weapons, to Ukraine, which had been attacked by Russia. In the Hamburg tax affair, which also deals with his behavior as mayor at the time, he once again rejected any political influence.
For the first time as chancellor, Scholz answered questions from journalists in the capital at the federal press conference. His predecessor Angela Merkel (CDU) had done this regularly before or after her summer vacation. The Russian war of aggression and its consequences for Germany were the central topic this time. Major issues of recent years, such as the corona pandemic, hardly played a role.
Government puts together overall package for relief
Scholz emphasized that further measures would have to be taken beyond the relief that had already been decided. “The government is also determined to do this.” At the same time, the Chancellor made it clear that he does not expect massive social upheaval due to the crisis. When asked if he expected social unrest because of rising energy prices, he replied: “No, I don’t think there will be unrest in this country in the form outlined. That’s because Germany is a welfare state.”
Scholz emphasized that he was concerned with those “who have very little”. Therefore, the government will do something with the housing benefit and introduce the citizen benefit. A personal concern for him is also those whose income is just above the limit for such benefits – “who also have to calculate every day how they can get by”. An overall package also included tax relief. The proposals by Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) for this are a “good premium,” said Scholz. “I find that very, very helpful, because we have to put together an overall package that includes all sections of the population.”
Scholz assured that the government had prepared for the upcoming difficulties, for example on the energy issue. “We are working off all the omissions of the last few years, which were really big in this regard.” As finance minister, Scholz himself was a member of the previous black-red government.
Further support of Ukraine in the fight against Russia
Scholz announced further massive support for Ukraine in its defense against the Russian attackers. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin’s war continues to demand “that we make far-reaching decisions to support Ukraine in its fight for independence.” The government is doing this through a “massive break with previous practice by supplying very, very many, very far-reaching, very efficient weapons”. Scholz added: “And we will continue to do that in the near future.”
The chancellor offered Warsaw a speedy settlement in a dispute over a ring swap of arms designed to balance Polish supplies to Ukraine with replacements from Germany. Germany likes to do this. “And agreements like the ones we made with the Czech Republic, are striving for with Slovakia, and make with Greece are also possible with Poland.”
When asked whether former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) could be useful again in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Scholz replied: “I don’t know.” But it would be “meritorious business” to ensure that Russia would allow the import of the turbine for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. The turbine serviced by Siemens-Energy is currently in Germany.
Scholz rejects any responsibility in the tax affair
In the tax affair surrounding the Hamburg Warburg Bank, Scholz continued to deny any responsibility during his time as mayor. “There is no evidence that there was any political interference,” he said. The extensive investigations of the past two and a half years have shown that. “I am sure that this realization will not be changed.”
The affair is about so-called cum-ex deals, in which financial players shifted blocks of shares around the dividend deadline in a complicated system in such a way that they were reimbursed for taxes that they had never paid. After meetings in 2016 and 2017 with the bank shareholders Christian Olearius and Max Warburg in Scholz’s office, the tax authorities had allowed a tax reclaim of 47 million euros against the bank to expire. A further 43 million euros were only claimed in 2017 after the Federal Ministry of Finance intervened shortly before the statute of limitations expired.
The meetings are said to have been initiated by the then member of the Bundestag Johannes Kahrs. Recently it became known that more than 200,000 euros in cash were found in a locker belonging to the SPD politician. When asked what he knew about the money, Scholz replied: “Nothing.” He was also taciturn about the possible origin of the money: “I have no idea – I assume you know that better than I do.”
Chancellor gives traffic light a full four years
Regardless of recognizable differences between the SPD, Greens and FDP, Scholz answered the question of whether the traffic light would last four years: “Yes.” He even has a perspective that goes beyond that. “It’s not the case that a unification party conference took place with the coalition agreement. It’s three different parties that competed with different political programs.” Together they hold on to the claim of being a “progressive coalition”. “The issue of making progress in Germany is still a major task for us. And that also unites the three coalition parties,” said Scholz.
Source: Stern
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