Steffen Kotré, December 15, 2022, Energy Prices

German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 20/76, p. 8993.

Right honorable Frau President. Right honorable ladies and gentlemen.

The demolition Ampel coalition marches further in the direction of an energy and social policy abyss and into fiscal madness. The sums of the transfer payments are now no longer realistically covered. We thus have an inflation of 10 percent so that, with the therefrom resulting contraction, the citizens are to be saddled with the loss of value. The self-made scarcity economy is administered as in a dictatorship and the citizens will be bled, ladies and gentlemen. As per planned economics, holes will now be plugged with tax monies which we would not have in a functioning social market economy without this dumb and naive sanctions policy.

Despite the price brake, the command energy cost are nevertheless paid, although now plainly in regards the so-called energy transition by the taxpayer. The situation might be immediately defused with nuclear energy, with coal electricity, by ending the useless sanctions. Yet because the Ampel does not do that, we must confirm that we here have to do with a misappropriation of the tax money.  

The Ampel, sadly no longer obligated to the people, shovels the Germans’ money by the handful beyond the actual energy costs to foreign countries: In the U.S.A. for over-priced liquid gas, to India for Russian oil,

            Götz Frömming (AfD): Hear, hear!

now to France and Belgium for Russian LNG.

And Russia nevertheless received additional money, even though the Ampel propaganda wanted to prevent precisely that with these sanctions. Yet the left-green rupture Ampel coalition thereby unfortunately makes us hostages to its hypocritical moral propaganda, ladies and gentlemen.

Normally, there would be a termination when things do not function – yet sadly, plainly not with the Left-Greens. The hindering of lower electricity prices thus must have a reason. Which indeed lies in the intention to financially damage us Germans, to quasi reduce [verdünnen] our economic power, as had been plausibly said by the former Green war minister, Joschka Fischer: To quasi verdünnen.

            Kassem Taher Saleh (Green): Eijeijei!

One instrument for that is to not directly purchase Russian oil and gas of good value, but roundabout and via middlemen.Thus then can this wrecking crew of course make additional money in foreign countries, with for example, the interpolation of the U.S. American firm Conoco Phillips for Qatari gas, of the Belgian Fluxys, of the French Total Energy.

Ladies and gentlemen, with a culpable act of misappropriation of tax money, the entire Federal government sits presumably in the defendants’ box. The citizens bravely pay their high taxes and the government routinely squanders it. That must stop. Therefore, with the AfD, this will be a criminal act of misappropriation of tax money.

            Kathrin Vogler (Linke): Who themselves all sit in jail!

            Christine Aschenberg-Dugnus (FDP): Mein Gott! Who wrote this speech?

The left-green politburo with its planned economy transfer payments not only does not solve the problems in our country, but also intensifies them for the future. The price reduction for customers – now codified in this package of laws – not only does not solve the problems but it effects an incentive for baseless price increases by the businesses themselves, by the suppliers. In the next year, Russian pipeline gas is eliminated and a replacement is lacking. The begging tours of Scholz and Habeck were, as is known, not very productive. When the world economy increases then, ja, LNG will in general be in demand and for us will also be scarcer and more expensive.

Ladies and gentlemen, the damage to Deutschland AG sadly continues.

            Kathrin Vogler (Linke): That is Reichsbürger propaganda which you                                        are spreading here!

The people in our country will however recognize that and then is an end with this politics directed against our people.

            Christine Aschenberg-Dugnus (FDP): Mein Gott! You are embarrassing!

            Timon Gremmels (SPD): Reichsbürger speech!

– You naturally could not restrain yourselves from saying something here. 

            Timon Gremmels (SPD): To that, you have not once a good answer!

            Lukas Köhler (FDP): You would have better said something reasonable!

            Friedrich Merz (CDU/CSU): The Legal Institute of Self-stupefaction.

 

[trans: tem]

 

 

Peter Felser, December 15, 2022, Origin Labeling

German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 20/76, pp. 9041-9042.

Right honorable Frau President. Herr Minister. Dear colleagues. Dear farmers.

That the animal husbandry labeling planned by you would be counter-productive for all participants, my colleague Protschka has already stated. You rightly receive criticism from all sides of the branch.  I cite, with permission of the President, the association of the meat industry: The law will contribute nothing to the reconstruction of animal husbandry but to the deconstruction of the supply security of German production and also presumably to the deconstruction of the already achieved progress in animal husbandry. – All here present need to give consideration to that. We simply cannot permit that in the present crisis, dear colleagues.

What on the other hand would be a strong support for the branch and all participants, and which is already long overdue, is the obligatory origin labeling [Herkunftskennzeichung] of all foodstuffs. We have repeatedly demanded it and today renew this demand with our motion [Drucksache 20/4889].

The reality however so appears that German agriculture finds itself in a hard displacement competition. Against foreign dumping of foodstuffs, the home farmers effectively have scarcely a chance. Environmental and animal protection play scarcely any role in foreign production. That is also in truth known to everyone here.

A transparent labeling of origin could nevertheless decisively change that. It cannot be, dear colleagues, that there are foodstuffs which contain additives from Poland, from China, from Brazil, which the consumer however simply does not see in a food market. What then is it for a label when thereon is: “Honey from EU and non-EU Countries”? Hello? From non-EU countries? Thus from all the world, from every planet? That is not consumer information, that is a spoof of the consumer, nothing else.

In my Allgäu, Allgäu milk is marketed which in part does not come from Allgäu. Where it says Allgäu milk, in the future it needs therein be Allgäu milk, dear colleagues. Period! All else would be deception of the consumer.

With origin labeling, domestic agricultural products would be visible at a glance to everyone. Producers and consumers could thus themselves decide for home products and thereby for very high animal protection and environmental standards. From all relevant surveys we know that, out there, this is explicitly desired by the consumers.

That this important decision is ever again postponed is irresponsible. Austria, France and Sweden have here already successfully gone ahead. There is thus no substantial or factual reason why we here could not also immediately introduce this in Germany. With our motion, we give to you the opportunity to finally introduce exactly this origin labeling for us in Germany.

Many thanks and a blessed Christmas.

 

[trans: tem]

 

 

 

 

 

Rüdiger Lucassen, November 23, 2022, Defense Procurement

German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 20/69, p. 8092.

Frau President. Frau Defense Commissioner. Ladies and gentlemen.

Nine months Zeitenwende [change of times] Bundeswehr. Here, I want to open with a question: Where is it, the Zeitenwende of Chancellor Olaf Scholz? In the Defense Committee it so far has not arrived. The press in any case seeks it. It has not arrived in the industry and our soldiers after nine months have seen nothing of the Zeitenwende in their barracks.

            Marianne Schieder (SPD): That is not right! Go there for once!

Scholz’s Zeitenwende, there is none, and not after your just heard attempt at clarification, Frau Minister. The truth is: For defense of our country, the Federal government has made 100 billion euros in debts, yet it has done nothing to expend the money for our armed forces. What the Federal government is doing to the Bundeswehr is sabotage, sabotage by incompetence.   

Dear colleagues, what could a willing and competent Federal government do with all of 100 billion euros?  Much of the damage which was inflicted on the Bundeswehr in the last decades could thereby be repaired. This prospect of a material change in the Bundeswehr is besides why a majority voted for the special fund. Yet now it appears that 100 billion in debt money melts away like snow in the sun, and the reasons are all homemade.

First. By means of galloping inflation, the purchasing power of the special fund decreases in the coming five years to 69 billion. That means 31 billion in purchasing power has been burnt.

Second. The increased interest rates for the borrowed money in any case hits the special fund full in the account. In the six months of this year alone, 308 million euros therein goes just for interest. For this sum, the Defense Ministry could buy 20 new armored howitzers. Yet the Defense Ministry buys no armored howitzers, exactly as few heavy transport helicopters, Boxers for the medium forces, or the enormously important air defense.

            Andreas Schwarz (SPD): Nevertheless, everything runs!

Instead, the Defense Ministry pays interest. With interest, our soldiers cannot fight.

State Secretary Möller drew our attention in a friendly way to the third point in the last committee meeting: The weakness of the euro. Every arms purchase in the U.S.A., like the purchase of the F-35 or the heavy transport helicopters, will obviously be figured in U.S. dollars. As a result of the weak euro, there is ever less armament for the money in the U.S.A. Your catastrophic financial policy not only weakens our prosperity but also our defense readiness.

The fourth and last reason for the melting of the special fund is the totally overcharged procurement system of the Bundeswehr. All of the Defense Ministers of the last nine years attempted a reform, all have failed. Frau Lambrecht herself has given up the attempt of a reform.

            Andreas Schwarz (SPD): Which nevertheless runs fine!

What the Federal government does with the special fund is a money demolition. And the Bundeswehr in the future will not be defense ready.

Ladies and gentlemen, the situation is off track, for every defense politician, regardless of which party. I say to you what I would do in this situation. I would set clear priorities and order weapons and munitions and indeed do it quickly. The German defense industry can deliver. It only waits on orders. I would run the risk of setting aside the procurement law, motivate the Armaments Office and let the complaints come [Ich würde ins Risiko gehen, mich über das Vergaberecht hinwegsetzen, dem Rüstungsamt Beine machen, es auf Klagen ankommen lassen]. Authentic political leadership presupposes the will to implement. It means having in view the welfare of the Bundeswehr and of our Federal Republic and taking personal responsibility for decisions in an emergency.

Thank you.

 

[trans: tem]