Economy Minister Katherina Reiche of the CDU wants to defuse the previous government’s building energy law controversy. SPD slowed down – and saw himself in a comfortable position.
By Michael Bauchmüller and Claus Hulverscheidt, Berlin
In the history of self-destructive government projects, the Building Energy Act (GEG) has achieved notoriety. In the spring of 2023, the debate within the coalition regarding GEG reform got so out of control that the so-called heating law ended up becoming a symbol of the dysfunction of the government’s work and marked the beginning of the end of the traffic light alliance. The successor black-red government should be warned if it now wants to change the GEG again. Because the potential for conflict is still as great as it was two and a half years ago: Although the leading politicians in the European Union loudly announce the “abolition of the heating law”, the SPD does not actually see any need for change.
