Kretschmer Criticizes the Stalemate Over the Electricity Tax

Saxony’s Minister-President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) has sharply criticized the stalemate over the electricity tax. “Reducing the electricity tax was a clear commitment by the Union. We promised the people and our businesses that we would lower electricity costs. Especially for an industrialized country like Germany, this is not a minor issue, but a crucial one for jobs and competitiveness,” he told the German Press Agency.

Kretschmer: “This is how we squander trust”

“I cannot understand why we make such promises and then fail to follow through on them in the coalition negotiations. People expect us to deliver. And they have every right to demand it. This is how we squander trust,” said the head of government. The Union must not claim to stand for economic prudence and relief and then back down on one of its central promises. “That damages trust—and we can’t afford that.”

At the same time, Kretschmer made it clear that Germany cannot be competitive without lower electricity prices. “The electricity tax must be lowered, and the European emissions trading system must be adjusted.”

No solution yet for financing the electricity tax cut

The CDU-SPD coalition has not yet found a way to finance the reduction in the electricity tax. A few weeks ago, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) had stated that budgetary leeway should now be used to reduce the electricity tax for everyone to the European minimum, as the CDU-SPD coalition had originally promised. So far, however, this has only been implemented for certain sectors of the economy.