Soltz made a promise to the Germans for the difficult winter with the Liverpool anthem – “You’ll never walk alone”

With his now favorite phrase “You’ll never walk alone” from the musical Carousel and her anthem Liverpoolthe chancellor Olaf Solz he tried today, during the usual summer press conference, to reassure citizens about the challenges of the coming winter, promising that the weakest will be adequately supported.

He even expressed the belief that there will be no social unrest, because “citizens are smart”, while regarding the Cum-Ex tax evasion scandal, he limited himself to stating repeatedly that there was no question of their own political interference.

As for him war in Ukraine, which was not today the dominant topic of the interview, the chancellor reiterated that it will only end with a decision by Kiev, again ruled out a Moscow-dictated peace and described the reconstruction of Ukraine as a task that the international community should undertake and it is bigger than the Marshall Plan.

“We are going through serious times. In the coming months, Germany will face great challenges”, Chancellor Olaf Solz warned in his first summer interview as chancellor, while assuring that the government will do everything to ensure that citizens overcome difficulties. “You’ll never walk alone”, he repeated, addressing mainly the citizens with the most limited income. “The government will present a comprehensive package so that no one is left alone, no one faces unsolved problems and no one is forced to shoulder alone the challenges associated with increased prices,” said Mr Soltz.

“You’ll never walk alone” from Liverpool fans

In any case, the chancellor expects that the natural gas tanks will be much fuller this year than last year, while the two liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals will be ready during the winter. “Gas is expensive right now. But we will always supply enough, that’s the point,” he said and pointed out: “The biggest challenge is Russia’s terrible war in Ukraine. But we will continue to support Ukraine, militarily, financially, morally.”

Referring to the efforts to ensure energy sufficiency, Olaf Solz explained that the use of lignite will continue and that “soon” a decision will be made regarding the possible extension of the country’s three nuclear power plants. At the same time, he assured, the process of de-addiction from fossil imgs and the development of renewable energy imgs is progressing.

“With every wind turbine, with every photovoltaic system, with every new power line put into operation, Germany’s dependence on imported fossil reimgs is reduced,” said Mr. Soltz and promised industry affordable energy in large quantities, especially electricity and hydrogen. “The most important thing is the expansion of renewable imgs. We have to position ourselves in a way that will allow us after a five-ten year transition period to say that our supply has been secured”, he added, without, however, ruling out the possibility of new pipelines being built in Europe. “The pipeline between Rostock and Swed is extremely important, and a pipeline from Portugal, via Spain and France, would provide great relief,” he said.