The federal government must now do everything it can to reduce the energy shortage, Wieland warned. "But it's not doing that." Using fracking, for example, would mean importing less extremely expensive liquefied natural gas transported by ships, which is extracted from the ground in the U.S. using the same method, he said.The rise in energy prices is considered one of the reasons for the sharp increase in inflation. According to Wieland, the further inflation trend, for example for 2024, is viewed too optimistically. "There is a great danger that inflation will be underestimated again."Broad-based measures to cushion the rise in prices on the part of citizens do not make sense, he said. "The money that the government distributes is at least partly spent and meets a tight supply. In the long run, that entrenches inflation." Aid programs would therefore have to be limited to the truly needy.
Die Zeit: "Völlig losgelöst"