Election campaign: be careful, traffic populists!

A liter of super petrol costs a good 1.60 euros.

That is significantly more expensive than a year ago, but hardly more than a decade ago.

Nevertheless, one can get the impression that the federal election campaign would be decided at the pump.

Union and FDP outbid each other with proposals with which they want to convince motorists to turn in the direction of their party.

Because CO2 prices make refueling more expensive, the vehicle tax should be phased out and energy taxes reduced, demanded the FDP chairman Christian Lindner at the weekend.

The top staff of the CSU had already come to him before.

Party leader Markus Söder and Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer recently called for a gasoline price brake at 2 euros per liter and made a higher commuter allowance their condition for the next coalition agreement.

From a climate point of view, traffic populism is at least questionable.

There is a reason why fuel has become more expensive: At the beginning of the year, national emissions trading was introduced for the transport and heating sectors.

A ton of CO2 price now costs 25 euros.

The price signal should make gasoline consumption less attractive and motivate people to use e-cars or to leave the car parked more often. This price signal, which is central to the FDP's climate protection concept, is now directly switched off by lower vehicle taxes or a higher commuter allowance, contradicts the approach. If the financial compensations also mean that Germans use more gasoline than is stipulated in the national emissions trading scheme, Germany must either save more CO2 in industrial areas where this is more difficult or buy the EU certificates, which are more than twice as expensive. Both make climate protection more inefficient. Anyone who wants social compensation for climate protection should therefore better allow money to flow back per capita than into climate-relevant areas.

The impression that traffic populists only exist in black and yellow would be wrong. As a reminder: The Greens want to throw 1000 euros after cargo bike buyers.