The high price of gasoline is burdensome for the population and the economy. Next week there will be a debate in parliament on whether left-wing or right-wing recipes will help counteract this.
Announcement
basic information at a glance
- Next week, Parliament will discuss measures to fight high gasoline prices.
- The demands of the left and right are diametrically opposed.
- But ordinary people accuse each other of the accusations.
The situation at the front of the gas stations was already tense before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Since then, the price for a liter of gasoline is well above two francs, rising from well below two francs at the beginning of the year. Politicians therefore see an urgent need for action and there is an “extraordinary session” in Parliament. But the demands of the left and right seem irreconcilable.
SVP relies on less taxes
With various advances, the SVP goes in one direction primarily: taxes and levies on mineral oil are to be completely or partially abolished. This would not only reduce the price of gasoline or diesel fuel, but also other petroleum products such as heating oil. Another line advocates doubling the travel allowance for commuters from 3,000 to 6,000 francs.
SVP argues that this would relieve small and medium-sized enterprises as well as enterprises. However, lifting taxes would create a rift in the federal treasury and road funding. An increase in the commuting allowance would reward those who live far from work and do not travel by public transport. All in all, the left-wing accusation that the SVP works here disapproving of the watering can principle – because everyone is refueling.
The SP wants to distribute the money
The SP presented a complete catalog of requests. But like the SVP, which has always been a salt in the eye of the mineral oil tax, it is based on well-known considerations. The most important measure must be to mitigate the premium shock to health insurance companies by increasing premium reductions.
Instead of cheap gasoline for everyone, the SP wants money from the federal government for almost everyone, or about 80 percent of the population. If inflation rises to more than five percent, a “federal check” must be distributed. The SP provides a one-off subsidy of CHF 260 per person, half for children. In the medium term, the SP calls for a reduction in public transport ticket prices or for a faster phase-out of fossil fuels.
Even the common people argue with each other
The demands of both the left and the right give the impression that they want to push through traditional demands with the Ukrainian war. Consequently, the “ideas” on the opposite side are dropped after the first few lines. Forging a majority should be especially difficult as the SVP also conflicts with the FDP and the center.
The FDP is at least critical or outright rejecting the SVP’s proposal. In return, the SVP directly attacks the bourgeois partners of the FDP and Mitte: they allow trade and small and medium-sized enterprises to bleed.
Even moderate, openly formulated demands may have difficulties in Parliament. The Federal Council responded to a request from the Mitte parliamentary group that “it does not currently see an immediate need for action.” The extraordinary debate in Parliament is likely to end in a talkative way, but without consequences.
Health insurance War in Ukraine Mittelstand Bundesrat Parliament Franconia taxes war eye FDP SP SVP
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