Germany news: Fuel costs dominate debate ahead of polls

Skip next section What you need to know

What you need to know

• Germany's coalition government still undecided on fuel price relief
• Poll shows nearly half of Germans expect Chancellor Merz to step down 
• Two states gear up for elections this weekend 

Here is a roundup of top stories from and about Germany on Friday September 18, 2026:

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Skip next section Germany's government still undecided on fuel price relief

September 18, 2026

Germany's government still undecided on fuel price relief

Germany's governing coalition is under pressure to show progress on bringing soaring gas prices under control ahead of two state elections this weekend in the northeastern states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin.

On Friday morning, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Social Democrat (SPD) state premier, Manuela Schwesig, told public broadcaster ZDF that Friedrich Merz should quickly implement a price cap.

The SPD is junior coalition partner with Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative bloc (CDU/CSU) at federal level, but the parties have diverging ideas on how to address the soaring prices brought on the by the Iran war.

Despite Merz's insistence on Tuesday that gas price relief is coming quickly, the ruling coalition has yet to agree on an approach.

Germany weighs fuel relief as gasoline prices soar

Germany's conservatives have resisted the SPD's call for price caps and a windfall profit tax in favor of a fuel tax relief scheme.

Such a scheme was enacted in the first months of the Iran war and expired in June. 

What the parties are saying about fuel prices in Germany

On Thursday evening, CDU General Secretary Franziska Hoppermann told a talk show that the coalition government was aiming for gas price relief of "around 22, 23, 25 cents per liter" by the beginning of October, without sharing concrete measures on how to reach that.

Germany's SPD Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil has for months advocated a government-enforced price cap on gasoline and diesel, along with new taxes on heavy oil company profits.

"We are right now looking for solutions" said Klingbeil on Friday at a EU finance minister meeting in Dublin, Ireland.

"I want a clear, quick signal at the gas pumps right now," said Klingbeil, who is also vice chancellor. "I'm confident that we'll be able to get it done very quickly."

Klingbeil added he expects the European Commission to prepare proposals for a windfall profit tax by the next meeting of EU finance ministers in October.

Prices for gasoline and diesel have broke record highs several times over the past week. On Thursday, the ADAC motoring club reported diesel at a record-breaking €2.47 per liter ($10.72 per gallon) on average, and the lowest cost E-10 gasoline at over €2.30.

Why Iran fuel crisis hits different in Europe than the US

https://p.dw.com/p/5Mpvr

Skip next section Welcome to our coverage

September 18, 2026

Welcome to our coverage

Guten Tag from Bonn as we kick off the weekend with everything Germany is talking about today. 

Soaring gasoline and diesel prices are dominating poitical discussion this week, with Germany's ruling coalition still divided on how to best provide price relief. 

The debate comes ahead of two key state elections on Sunday. Voters are heading to the polls in the city-state Berlin and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (MWP) in the former East Germany.

Both races are set to be close-run affairs. The Left Party and Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democrats are battling it out in Berlin, while the center-left Social Democrats and the far-right AfD are neck and neck in MWP. 

This Friday, sees the final day of campaigning.

Join us and we cover these stories and more. 

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