Anger in Germany for the luxurious wedding of a minister while the Government asks to save with short showers

Finance Minister of Germanythe liberal Christian Lindnerand the TV presenter fringe Lehfeldt They celebrated their wedding this weekend. The ceremony, “the event of the year” According to the magazine Buntehas unleashed great discomfort and strong criticism among the population.

The reason? It is not so much because of the party itself, a private event, as because of the significant cost to the coffers that it has meant, at a time of spiral inflationary in which the Government urges savings for the crisis energetic.

As it was the liaison of a minister, a large part of the guests were logically politicians, and that entailed a great security deploymentwith police vans, street closures, explosive detection dogs…

[Estos son los planes de contingencia de los países de la UE, incluido España, si este invierno no hay gas ruso]

The wedding took place on the exclusive island of Syltlocated in the North Sea and known for its luxurious hotels and expensive restaurants, not suitable for all pockets. The leader of the opposition – the Christian Democrat Friedrich merz– Criticism has rained down on him for his ostentatious image: he reached the island at the controls of his own airplane private.

Austerity

The ceremony, a personal event, has become the debate political of the week in Germany. Some popular faces like the comedian Ilka bessin They wonder why should taxpayers finance the security of a private party.

The celebration took place one day after the Government called for austerity due to the uncertainty derived from the war in Ukraine and its economic repercussions.

[Alemania sube al nivel máximo la alerta ante cortes de gas: se pide racionar la luz y no usar el coche]

In addition to the head of the opposition, the chancellor, the social democrat, also attended the wedding. Olaf scholz; his wife, the Minister of Education of Brandenburg Britta Ernst or the vice president of the Bundestag, the liberal Wolfgang Kubicki.

This controversy comes at a time when the Minister council Germany has just approved a draft budget for 2023 with which it will return to the path of austerity. For the first time since 2019, Germany wants to comply with the so-called “debt brake”, a constitutional precept that requires that in times of economic normality the deficit does not exceed 0.35 percent of the GDP.

And the closure of the gas pipeline is added to the call for saving North Stream 1, transporting Russian gas to the German country through the sea Baltic, for maintenance work. In principle, the supply interruption will last ten days, but Germany suspects that the kremlin It will completely block the gas pipeline.

Faced with this complex scenario, the country holds its breath and has decided to raise the alert to the maximum level in the event of possible gas cuts. What does this mean? Rturn on the electricitythat citizens shorten the time of the showerlower 2ºC the heating and the air-conditioningturn off the appliances at nightdo not move the car when it is dispensable or there is an alternative, and return to the Coal.