Energy prices: Expensive demands from the middle of the population

In view of the massive increase in energy prices, the population has high expectations of politics. Although the majority of Germans demand targeted measures only for households with low incomes, the highest transfers for their own households are desired by the middle income groups. If the wishes of the population were granted, the state would have to spend almost 26 billion euros on transfers amounting to an average of 648 euros for all 40.7 million households in Germany.

SINUS-Institut and the Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (German Economic Institute) conducted a representative online survey with the aim of empirically investigating attitudes towards state relief. The analyses show how difficult it will be to meet the demands for state support.

Who should be the focus of state support is still controversial among the population: Overall, 58 percent of people in the SINUS-IW survey are in favour of relief targeted exclusively at low-income households.

83 percent of households with means-weighted incomes below 1,500 euros perceive the higher costs as a heavy or very heavy burden. In comparison, 46 percent of respondents from households with incomes above 3,000 euros say that the increased energy prices are at least a heavy burden on them.

While the quarter of respondents with the lowest cost expectation expects further costs of up to 80 euros per month for their household, the most pessimistic quarter expects additional costs of over 300 euros per month. The average expectation of additional costs is around 220 euros per month, which means more than 2,500 euros for the coming year.

In order to understand more precisely what moves the population with regard to the current crisis situation, the Sinus-Milieus model is integrated into the survey as a further explanatory perspective. Thus, the two middle milieus (Nostalgic Middle Class Milieu and Adaptive-Pragmatic Middle Class Milieu) perceive a particularly high pressure and feel "forgotten" by politics above average. The basic sentiment in the Nostalgic Middle Class Milieu (11% of the population) is the feeling of being increasingly overtaxed, and not only since this crisis. Basically - and increasingly in times of crisis - the "old" centre of society expects leadership and care from politics. Chancellor Scholz's promise of "You'll Never Walk Alone" and the relief policy could serve these needs. The more modern Adaptive-Pragmatic Middle Class Milieu (12% of the population) exhibits a decided "state as service provider" mentality. In this milieu, "You'll Never Walk Alone" means that the state provides orientation and planning security for the future and shows how to proceed by means of incentives or sanctions.