Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) promises the citizens of Germany a long phase of deprivation in view of rising prices as a result of the Ukraine war. “My concern is that we could have a very worrying situation in a few weeks and months,” said Lindner on Tuesday evening on ZDF’s “heute journal”. “It’s about three to four, maybe five years of scarcity. And we have to find an answer for that.”

He added: “There is a risk of a very serious economic crisis due to the sharp rise in energy prices, due to supply chain problems, due to inflation.” The primary goal must now be to stop inflation. “Not only because of the economy, but because many people also have concerns about whether they can afford to live.” It is therefore necessary to talk about all the options, including extended operating times for the three nuclear power plants that are still operational in this country.

This Wednesday, the heads of the traffic light coalition are discussing possible steps against the price increases, especially for gas and energy, as a result of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. For a few days now, Russia has been pumping significantly less gas to Germany – according to the Federal Network Agency, the supply situation is therefore tense. Among other things, this had rekindled the debate about extending the lifetime of nuclear power plants in Germany.

The traffic light coalition argues about how energy security can be guaranteed. The SPD and the Greens are against fracking and extending the lifetime of nuclear energy. The FDP, on the other hand, does not want to rule that out.

“We can also use our own power supply options. For example, the domestic gas and oil deposits, they are now much more economical than they were a few months ago due to the rise in world market prices,” said Lindner, adding: “There must be no taboos when it comes to controlling price developments for people .”

Lindner emphasized that it was correct that there was no agreement in the coalition, but that there was no dispute. “In any case, I am not satisfied that we are extending the climate-damaging coal, but not even considering the possibilities of nuclear energy.” He would like to know all the arguments and alternatives. The fact that nuclear energy is not even being considered bothers him in view of “these enormously increased prices”.