This article first appeared on RTL.de

Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner has defended business relations with Qatar: "The business must not be placed before morality," he said on the agreement between Germany and Qatar on the delivery of liquid gas from 2026. "There can be "no compromises in our commitment to tolerance and liberality," said the FDP chairman with a view to the criticism of the Gulf state in connection with the World Cup. "But we also have business interests, in this case energy interests, that we have to pursue."

At the same time, he countered the accusation from Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz that the agreement with Qatar was not worthwhile. "It was a CDU-led federal government that made us one-sidedly dependent on Russian pipeline gas. I think it's a little cheap if Mr. Merz is now criticizing the government from the sidelines for not being able to pay off the mortgage of the CDU party quickly enough. run by the former federal government."

In view of the impending energy bottlenecks in the coming years, Lindner also advocated thinking about fracking in Germany. "I would be more comfortable if we also used our own domestic sources of gas and oil. That would make us more independent. In the long run I think it would also be more economical."

In addition, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner has warned of the consequences of persistently high inflation. The inflation rate is still "much too high" and a "very big threat to social cohesion and the good economic development of our country," said the FDP politician on Tuesday evening on the "RTL Direkt" program.

The federal government is doing "everything in our power" to mitigate the consequences of rising prices, according to Lindner, referring to the relief packages that have been decided. However, the high inflation will "certainly still accompany the people next year".