Do not breathe in front of the elections

Dieselgate dropped the Merkel rating by 10%

For a month now in Germany, an acute discussion on the problem of diesel engines has not subsided. The situation was so heated that the official homeland of Diesel seriously discussed the ban on its use in urban conditions. To avoid this, the authorities went to a dubious compromise with the automakers - and Angel Merkel hit the government.

It all started with the fact that in 2015, the Volkswagen Auto Concert (VW) came across in the United States on manipulations with exhaust gases on cars with diesel engines. German engineers, in order to circumvent strict requirements for the release of harmful substances into the atmosphere, were installed on a car special software that allows you to deceive the testing equipment. During control measurements at the stands, the indicators remained normal, but in fact the engines exceeded the permissible level by almost 40 times.

About 500 thousand sold in the United States “People's Cars” were on the black list. VW was threatened with litigation and an astronomical fine of $ 18 billion. For the sake of saving the image, the German concern voluntarily agreed to repair all cars with a cunning filling at his own expense and pay each car owner to 5 thousand dollars of compensation for moral damage.

But this did not end. In the course of further checks, it turned out that in fraud with diesel engines, almost all the largest automakers of Germany were involved. At the same time, they sold their products not only in the American market, but around the world. In Europe alone, more than 600 thousand diesel cars were sold with a specially lowered level of exhaust gases.

In Germany, Dieselgate, gaining momentum, served as the reason that the regional and communal authorities began to raise the question of the ban on the use of diesel cars in the city. The example was given by Stuttgart-the capital of the land of Baden-Württemberg, where it has long been pollution of air in the city center goes through all the permissible norms.

Back in February, the Baden-Württemberg land government decided to limit the entry from 2018 to the Stagger Center for diesel engines below the Euro-5 and Euro-6 standard. Similar measures were studied in Hamburg, Munich and a number of other major cities in Germany.

The problem has acquired an acute socio-political sound. On the one hand, the introduction of a diesel prohibition directly affected the life of many Germans. Currently, according to experts, approximately 6 million supported diesel cars are in personal operation, which Bundesburgists are used for daily travel to work, shopping and other cases. Apart from those cars that are engaged in business - delivery of products, goods, etc..

On the other hand, German auto giants found themselves under threat. A total refusal of the production of diesel cars could mean for them a reduction in tens of thousands of jobs. In addition, many car owners began to appeal to courts with lawsuits, believing that manufacturers should pay them for deception with a low level of exhaust gases.

In early August, the federal government, having convened a meeting at the top with the participation of ministers and the heads of all leading car concerns, tried to find a way out of this difficult situation. Contrary to the hopes of environmental defenders, state officials did not show the expected from their solid principledness and did not demand to radically reform the segment of the production of diesel cars.

Rather, on the contrary. Cosmetic measures proposed by auto-industrialists were accepted with excessive readiness, namely: to equip the Euro-5 and Euro-6 category engines with an electronic device, which supposedly lower the harmful ejection by 30 percent. This is about 5 million cars.

The owners of supported diesel engines that did not fall into this number were left to choose either to put their cars on a joke, or agree to exchange it for a new car according to the bonus program. "Volkswagen", for example, offers a discount from one and a half to 10 thousand euros, depending on the class.

At first glance, it would seem a seductive proposal. However, according to independent analysts of the German car market, consumers twice are losing. Firstly, they are deprived of the opportunity to independently sell the old car, which is why they lose their income that can be above the bonus. Secondly, they are imposed on additional expenses for the purchase of a new car.

Representatives of environmental organizations and opposition sharply criticized the results of the meeting of ministers with the leaders of the automotive industry. The government, according to their conviction, entering into a conspiracy with carriers, ignored the growing problems with air pollution in cities and the interests of millions of ordinary citizens.

The unpopularity of decisions is evidenced by a survey of public opinion conducted by the ARD channel. So, 67% of the Germans believe that the ruling politicians followed the auto industry. And if in July 55%approved in July, now only 47%. At the same time, the Chancellor Merkel lost 10 percentage points in the eyes of fellow citizens at once, dropping from 69% to 59%.

A little more than a month remains before the elections in Germany. Few German analysts doubt that Dieselgate will have their influence on them.