Union faction Vice Jens Spahn (CDU) has sharply criticized the trip to Canada by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). “Unfortunately, we have to say: apart from expenses, there was nothing,” said Spahn on Monday evening in ZDF’s “Heute Journal Update”. Like the trips to Qatar or Norway, this trip “now for this winter” will not be able to solve Germany’s energy problem.
He is “seriously concerned,” said Spahn. For this winter there are “too few alternatives for Russian gas”. There are currently no real savings either. Spahn therefore called for concrete financial incentives to save energy: He suggested that consumers should get 20 cents off the grid for each kilowatt hour saved.
Scholz and Habeck continue their talks in Canada on Tuesday. At noon they fly to Stephenville in Newfoundland on the east coast, where a wind turbine for the production of hydrogen is planned. Habeck emphasized on Monday that the focus of the trip was on concluding an “energy partnership for the future” with Canada. Canada cannot supply liquid gas in the short term.
