BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – Because of the exploding prices for gas and food as a result of the Ukraine war, the left sees the threat of a “social catastrophe” in this country – with potential dangers for democracy in Germany as well. “As a society, we are running into a perfect storm,” said party leader Martin Schirdewan on Sunday in the ARD summer interview. He warned of a “huge wave of fuel poverty” which, combined with high inflation, would mean “people can no longer afford food, rents will continue to rise”.
Because of the upheavals looming in the coming months, Schirdewan says there is a risk that the country will face a “manifest crisis of democracy”. The extreme right is already beginning to mobilize. But they are not concerned with the social question, but with their “anti-democratic program”.
At the same time, he announced that the left would also call for protests in the fall. The aim is to persuade the federal government of SPD, Greens and FDP to act. His party will fight for a gas price cap, for a rent moratorium and a ban on gas and electricity cuts for consumers who cannot pay their bills.
The co-chairman of the left in the European Parliament also criticized the Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) because he refused to “ask the winners of the crisis to pay” – for example in the form of an excess profit tax for certain companies. The state can use the revenue to finance socio-political measures for poor people.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine at the end of February, has severely curtailed its gas supplies through the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline. This is one of the reasons why prices are rising sharply./toz/DP/jha