The flow of Russian natural gas through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline is currently stopped. But the debate over a possible price cap and the usefulness of the sanctions against Russia continues. With the demand for political intervention in electricity prices, the governor of Lower Austria, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, has unleashed an avalanche that is tearing the ÖVP into a conflict of direction. With his statements in the krone.tv talk show “Club 3”, Social Affairs Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens), as well as the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor, substantiated the negative attitude of the federal government and added even more fuel to the fire with criticism of the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, Harald Mahrer.
The Minister of Health and Social Affairs said to the ÖVP politician, who has repeatedly criticized the sanctions against the Kremlin and the Russian economy and indirectly advocated their abolition: “I am amazed. We need European solidarity. And not the rolled out red carpet for Putin again, something like that is irresponsible.” A chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, “who has always explained to us in the past that what the Greens want to achieve with the energy transition cannot be done, now wants to explain to us that we practically have to roll out the red carpet for Putin so that we can get cheap again.” getting gas – impossible!”
Watch the current “Club 3” show in the video below:
The attacked Mahrer made it clear on Monday in the Ö1 “Morgenjournal” that his demands “had nothing to do with party politics”. Anyone who, Rauch believes, wants him and business representatives to roll out the red carpet for President Vladimir Putin is sticking to “cheap polemical arguments and evading political accountability”. He also rejects the Russian war of aggression, Mahrer continued. However, the sanctions had not been thought through to the end.
Mahrer: “There are questions to be asked!”
The former ÖVP economy minister referred to a report by the German news magazine “Spiegel”, which said that the round of sanctions decided after the Russian invasion of Ukraine had already been prepared in November of the previous year. Against this background, Mahrer wondered why no protection mechanisms had been put in place for the EU countries either. In July, “six months after the sanctions had apparently been prepared in the closet”, they were still discussing a joint gas purchasing platform. In addition, no one has thought about how the gas infrastructure will continue. “There are questions to ask!”
In an interview with ORF radio, Mahrer now called for intensified efforts on the part of the EU government and the EU commission to avert “greater damage”. In view of the inflation debate and a possible upper limit for electricity prices, the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce spoke of a “hot potato being pushed around”.
Source: Krone
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