Dirk Wiese, the SPD’s first parliamentary manager, maintains that an excise tax on the excess profits of oil conglomerates will remain in force, despite the European Union’s refusal. Speaking to the news program “Welt” the SPD politician stated that the idea remains firm and they will continue to pursue it vigorously, noting that the entire federal government backed Lars Klingbeil’s proposal during the coalition committee meeting held over the last weekend.
Wiese dismissed the EU Commission’s decision-which stemmed from a lack of unanimous consent-not to implement a special tax on the heightened crisis profits earned by energy giants as an insurmountable hurdle. While acknowledging that the necessary unanimity in Brussels had not yet been achieved, he criticized the situation while refusing to concede defeat on the matter. He stressed that this does not mean the SPD should withdraw or stop advocating fiercely, adding that politics sometimes requires making major, forceful pushes. “I can assure you” he concluded, “we as the SPD can be very persistent”.
Regarding reports suggesting acrimonious disputes in the coalition committee between Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil (SPD), and how he assesses their working relationship, Wiese replied that the government’s clear objective is to advance reforms. While conceding that disagreements might occasionally cause things to “stumble” especially because they are from different parties, he reassured the audience that intense fighting is not always the norm.