Rivals For German Chancellorship Vow Aid To Flood-Hit Regions

Reconstruction in the regions along the Rhine River devastated by last month's floods will probably cost more than 6 billion euros ($7 billion), German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said while visiting the region as rivals for the German chancellorship vowed to pour in money for the affected areas.

Photo Insert: German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz leads the Social Democrats (SPD) in the campaign

Scholz noted that about that amount had been paid out for the last flood disaster in 2013, but added that the damage this time in the western states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) was probably worse.

"We want to help everyone in the reconstruction," Scholz said, while acknowledging that destroyed lives, wrecked health and the psychological damage could not be made good, Erich Reimann reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) late on August 3, 2021.

"But what can be rectified with money we will rectify with money," he said during his visit to the town of Stolberg near Aachen.

The Cabinet is to meet on Wednesday to take decisions on helping the businesses affected. Scholz said legislation would be passed on the reconstruction before the September elections.

Also speaking in Stolberg, NRW premier Armin Laschet said that the state had already paid out 215 million euros in immediate aid and that reconstruction aid would begin flowing soon. The reconstruction would take climate change into account, he said.

The two men are vying for the chancellorship following the elections. Laschet, the candidate for the Christian Democrats (CDU), is aiming to pick up Chancellor Angela Merkel's mantle, while Scholz is leading the Social Democrats (SPD) in the campaign.

The CDU, along with its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), goes into the September 26 elections in the lead, although Laschet personally has taken a hit to his popularity due to the effects of the floods.

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