Is the German traffic turnaround stuck in traffic jams? In any case, there was no consensus among Anne Will’s guests about promising transport concepts.
“It can’t be that” – this sentence was repeated several times on Sunday evening in “Anne Will” by journalist Robin Alexander. Among other things, the deputy editor-in-chief of “Die Welt” expressed his astonishment at disputes and stagnation in the coalition on the subject of traffic change. “I’m worried that momentum is being wasted,” said Alexander.
The guests
- Ricarda Lang, Federal Chairwoman (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
- Christian Dürr, Chairman of the Bundestag faction (FDP)
- Thorsten Frei, First Parliamentary Secretary of the Union Parliamentary Group (CDU)
- Katja Diehl, author, podcaster, consultant with a focus on mobility
- Robin Alexander, Deputy Editor-in-Chief “Die Welt”
By momentum, he meant the federal government’s ability to act quickly when building the LNG terminals – a reaction to Putin’s gas threat to Germany. “Now it would be obvious to say: We’re thinking about how we can always do it that way. Instead, we’re having a discussion: Your car is bad, you want to change my life. We’re back on this individual level and that’s a total shame,” attested the journalist.
In fact, the politicians present – Ricarda Lang from the Greens on the one hand, Christian Dürr from the FDP and Thorsten Frei from the CDU on the other – had very different views on the subject of future transport concepts. The big point of contention and thematic cornerstone of the program was the expansion of the motorways demanded by the FDP. A necessity for Dürr: “We have to be faster everywhere.” He wasn’t referring exclusively, but also to motorways: “We have increasing traffic everywhere. We have bottlenecks on the rails, but – people who are stuck in traffic in the morning notice that – we also have bottlenecks on the motorways.” That is why the principle applies: “The green light for all transport projects that we need, that are necessary so that there are fewer traffic jams in Germany and people can move faster”.
CDU sees sluggishness, Greens emphasize the need for prioritization
CDU man Thorsten Frei made a similar statement. “Autobahns are still lifelines of the economy today. That’s why you have to think about how to organize traffic in the most environmentally friendly way possible.” But German inertia stands in the way: “Our problem in Germany is that we need too long, are too sluggish. We need a turbo. We have to be able to plan, approve and implement faster,” says Frei.
The Federal Chair of the Greens, Ricarda Lang, unsurprisingly saw things differently. Especially in times of the climate crisis, it is important to set priorities, she explained. “We have to get faster with renewable energies, with power grids – but also with the expansion of rail. But it is also clear: “If I prioritize everything, I end up prioritizing nothing”. The priority is to comply with the Paris climate goals.
Mobility expert: “This is against human dignity”
In the country there is no option but the car. “It’s something that doesn’t feel free, it’s against human dignity to have to ask for mobility.” For them it was clear: expanding the freeways is counterproductive. “Building highways to counteract traffic jams is like loosening the belt on your pants when you want to lose weight. That’s the wrong measure and something that’s very backward-looking. When I hear about ten-lane highways, I think of dystopias – and not one A future that is worth living in. I want people to be able to live well in the city as well”.
