The German government has characterized the demands of the Monopol Commission as a “campaign pledge in the ongoing federal election campaign” following a potential full exit of the federal government from the DAX companies Deutsche Telekom and Deutsche Post.
Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit stated, “If it’s such a blatant demand, I’d say, let the next government deal with it.” He added that the current government’s composition may or may not be the same in the future.
The head of the Monopol Commission, Tomaso Duso, had previously told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that the commission would demand the sale of the federal government’s shares in the two companies during the next legislative period. The Monopol Commission is an independent body that advises the government on competition issues, but it has no decision-making authority.
“It is now the right time for a full privatization of Telekom and Post” Duso explained, citing the benefits for the competition. “A government stake is no longer necessary for the sake of the general welfare.” The federal government currently holds a 27.8% stake in Telekom, with nearly 14% of that through the state development bank KfW and a 16.5% stake in DHL.
The value of the shares is currently over 50 billion euros. “The billions in profit could be used for general welfare in the form of infrastructure investments” Duso told the Süddeutsche Zeitung.