The increase in the price of shaarma – a big problem for the Germans. The increase in 2 years from 4 to 10 euros made politicians propose ceilings or vouchers

Inflation is hitting hard, and politicians report that the topic is frequently mentioned in discussions with voters, writes The Guardian.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz is so used to questions about shahorma prices that the government posted messages on social media explaining that the increases were partly due to wage increases and high energy costs. “It’s striking that everywhere I go, especially young people, they ask me if there shouldn’t be a price brake for the shack,” Scholz said.

The far-left party Die Linke is taking advantage of this hot topic, calling in Parliament to introduce a maximum price limit for shaorma, similar to the one imposed in certain regions of Germany for rent control. The party says that the price of a shaorma has already reached €10 in some cities, compared to €4 two years ago.

Die Linke recommends capping the price at €4.90, and for young people from low-income families, the proposal is €2.90. The party argues that this dish, consisting of roast meat, chopped vegetables, hot or garlic sauce, in a stick, is a staple food for young people. At the same time, he suggests the introduction of daily vouchers for the shack.

Annual sales of shaorma, a dish introduced to Germany by Turkish immigrants and adapted to local tastes, amount to approximately 7 billion euros annually in the country.

Based on an estimated 1.3 billion portions of shawarma consumed annually (400,000 daily in Berlin alone), a subsidy program would cost around 4 billion euros per year, according to Die Linke calculations.

Hanna Steinmüller, parliamentarian from the Greens, a party that usually promotes the limitation of meat consumption, raised this issue in Parliament recently. “For young people, now, this issue is as important as the discussion of where they will move when they leave the parental home. I know that for many people here it’s not an everyday issue and it might seem cheesy, but I think that, in the role of Citizens’ Representatives, we have an obligation to highlight these different perspectives”.

Scholz ruled out the idea of ​​price controls as “inapplicable” in a market economy. He emphasized, instead, the European Central Bank’s efforts to reduce inflation.

On social networks, some young people called for the return of Angela Merkel, arguing that the former chancellor “had the situation under control”.

Deniz, a hawker vendor at a shack near Berlin’s Friedrichstrasse station, where the price has risen from €3.90 to €7, said he doesn’t see how the price could go down at the moment. “We had to raise prices because of the exorbitant rents, the price of energy and food. People keep accusing us of ‘cheap inflation’, as if we are fooling them, but things are out of our control,” he explained.