WORLD: Mr. Huber, your predecessors came to Berlin for many years as members of the ruling party, you are now in the capital as a representative of the opposition. How much does the loss of power and influence in Bavaria and your CSU in Germany hurt you?
Martin Huber: If you look at the work of the traffic light, it is painful for the whole country that the CSU is no longer in government. The record of this coalition after a year is miserable. This ranges from the botched gas levy, gas and electricity price brakes that started much too late, to an inheritance tax, which through the back door is practically a cold expropriation.
WORLD: Nevertheless, the CSU is hardly noticed nationwide. The party is much more focused on Bavaria than it used to be. Is the CSU on the way to becoming a regional party?
Huber: I have to disagree. The CSU is clearly visible throughout Germany: we help shape it. For example, without the commitment of the CDU and CSU, the citizen’s income would actually have been the prelude to an unconditional basic income.
Without our pressure, the gas storage facilities in the south would not have been filled, and there would not have been even the mini-life extension of nuclear power. Or when it comes to hydropower plants, we have set clear priorities in the question of funding. We are not withdrawing to Bavaria, neither from Berlin nor from Brussels.
WORLD: It still seems as if the CSU and CDU are taking an oppositional zigzag course. Example citizen income: first the CSU was against higher standard rates, then for it. Where is the common thread?
Huber: We presented a 15-point program back in June to get the country safely through the crisis. In June we proposed a gas and electricity price brake. The traffic light took up this idea months later. In June we presented a plan to extend the lifespan of nuclear power plants.
The traffic light hesitated and hesitated and then took over, but only half-heartedly. In June we suggested signing new trade agreements and gas supply contracts because that is the best way to curb inflation.
WORLD: Now the traffic light has decided on the electricity and gas price brake. Why is that not right for the CSU again?
Huber: The brakes come much too late, even the expert commission that the federal government has set up says so. And the implementation is a mess. The municipal utilities don’t know how to organize this, and the citizens don’t know what they can get, when and how. Or do you know that? And then it’s still open when the gas brake will kick in.
The Bundestag votes on the gas and electricity price brake. “The problem is that this price brake will not help many,” says Jens Spahn, Vice President of the Union faction. He also fears that companies could invest in other countries in the future.
WORLD: From January 1st.
Huber: In March, retroactive to January. And until then, what about the big bills? I’m sticking with it: a single commotion.
WORLD: After all, the traffic light managed to equip the country with enough gas supplies this winter. Don’t you have to concede that to the coalition?
Huber: You just spoke of a “zigzag course” – that fits in perfectly with the head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller (formerly a Green Party politician, ed.). He tells us that the storage tanks are full and everything is fine, sometimes the opposite and that we urgently need to save money and stop showering. In the beginning he said there would be no power shortage.
Everyone now knows that the opposite is the case. Obviously, the statements made by the President of the Federal Network Agency cannot be trusted. That unsettles people.
WORLD: For Bavaria, the Federal Network Agency has always warned of gas bottlenecks. How do you assess the supply situation in southern Germany?
Huber: This winter we will probably get by with the existing reserves. The next one will be more difficult. The problem is that the federal government announces high gas storage levels with swollen chests, but fails to mention that many of these reserves do not belong to us in Germany, but to customers abroad. No one knows how high this proportion is.
Therefore, we, politicians, citizens and business, have no planning security whatsoever. I therefore call on the Federal Government to clarify before the end of this year and to make transparent what gas reserves Germany actually has and how long they will last.
WORLD: Electricity is also scarce. How big is the risk of blackouts?
Huber: Measurements over the past few days have shown that the network stability is at its limit in places and at times. Against this background, we must be prepared for regional power outages that are the result of energy shortages. This danger could have been minimized with a more effective precautionary and procurement policy.
Other countries reacted better and secured more gas. Italy for example. We now have to see how stable our networks are. That’s why we’re calling for another stress test, which is urgently needed.
WORLD: The CSU fought hard to keep the Isar II nuclear power plant connected to the grid. But that is not decisive for the supply of Bavaria. Isn’t the CSU basically concerned with keeping nuclear power plants in operation longer?
Huber: There must be no compromises whatsoever on the goal of climate neutrality. Fossil fuels that are burned today will be replaced by clean, renewable energy. Electrification will be greatly expanded, for which we will need much, much more electricity in the future than we do today. For that we need nuclear power. We can’t do without them for the time being.
WORLD: So the Isar II nuclear power plant should continue to run permanently?
Huber: The CSU does not want a renaissance of nuclear power, but in the current situation we are dependent on energy from the Isar II nuclear power plant. At least until 2024. How long does it have to stay online?
WORLD: Your party likes to point out the possibilities of gas production or fracking in your own country. But in northern Germany, please not in Bavaria. Isn’t that pretty transparent?
Huber: We have a clear stance on this: We have to use all energy sources that exist, including in Bavaria.
WORLD: Why aren’t the gas supplies in Upper Bavarian Holzkirchen, headed by a CSU mayor, tapped?
Huber: We are currently looking at all the deposits that exist in Bavaria and are examining where it is worth developing.
WORLD: Also in the Holzkirchen case?
Huber: As I said, we are examining all possibilities.
WORLD: That also applies to fracking in Bavaria?
Huber: We have to look at everything, but there are probably better opportunities in northern Germany. Of course, the focus must be on initiatives such as the expansion of the hydrogen network, and Bavaria is already a pioneer in this area. And the construction of new wind turbines, which we are now massively accelerating.
WORLD: So far there hasn’t been much to see.
Huber: The state parliament has made all the necessary decisions, but of course that doesn’t mean that wind turbines will be springing up everywhere by Christmas. But the acceleration can already be clearly felt: 340 wind power projects are currently being prepared, and the largest onshore wind farm in Germany is currently being planned in my home region of Altötting.
WORLD: Finally, a question in connection with the coup plans uncovered by “Reich citizens”: How dangerous do you think this movement is?
Huber: “Reich citizens” are a fire hazard. The “Reich Citizens” as well as the AfD, with which they are closely interwoven, do not stand on the ground of our free democratic basic order and must therefore be closely monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
WORLD: Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) wants to dismiss extremist officials from the civil service more quickly, how does Bavaria feel about this?
Huber: A demonstrable “Reich citizen” cannot and must not be in government service in Bavaria. The AfD is also an extremist movement, all moderate forces have been or are being pushed out of the party. You have to look at each individual case carefully.
“Kick-off Politics” is WELT’s daily news podcast. The most important topic analyzed by WELT editors and the dates of the day. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, among others, or directly via RSS feed.
