Outrage mounts in Germany because the victims of a natural disaster that claimed the lives of more than 130 people in the federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia two years ago have still not received more than €600 million in aid.

This is another of those moments when one is simply at a loss for words: instead of doing everything possible to help the flood victims in the Ahr Valley, the federal government is still not disbursing the funds earmarked for this purpose. The sum of 612.6 million euros allocated from an EU solidarity fund was not forwarded to the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, but was used instead to cover the interest on its own federal budget, the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party states, reacting indignantly to the fact that, although the disaster happened years ago, the effects of the tragedy are still palpable in the Ahr Valley.

In connection with the tragedy in western Germany, which claimed more than 130 lives, it was revealed that serious omissions on the part of the provincial ministry of environmental protection actually contributed to the disaster. To this day, it is not clear why the ministry did not deal with mitigating the danger in advance, and why it did not address the disaster for hours after it happened.

According to the AfD, while the people living in the area affected by the flood are still struggling with the devastating consequences of the disaster, the Scholz government is left untouched by the reality, and social democrat politician Malu Dreyer, prime minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, a pathetic picture of failure on the night of the flood, also does not see this as a problem, as he is the one who refused to transfer the money.

„And let’s not forget: without the complete failure of the federal and state governments in terms of disaster management, a disaster of this magnitude would not have happened, and many people who died could still be alive,” said the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which argues that money should be invested in improving disaster management in Germany instead of failed climate policies.

„Above all, however, support should finally be given to the people in the Ahr valley. These people do not deserve the callousness and incompetence of the government,” the AfD said in a statement.

In any case, an increasing number of people living in the Ahr valley are asking where the money earmarked for this has gone.

It is noteworthy that Anne Spiegel, the federal minister for family affairs and previously environment minister in Rhineland-Palatinate, resigned because of the disaster. While people were searching for those missing, mourning their families and salvaging what was left of their belongings, Anne Spiegel was on a four-week holiday in France, later defending herself by saying that her family needed the long holiday.

Ms Spiegel apologized and also admitted that it was a mistake not to attend the state government meetings. By this, the Greens party politician contradicted herself, as she had previously claimed that she had been present at the meetings. The minister’s scandal erupted when messages sent by Mr Spiegel to her staff on the night of the tragedy were made public. Spiegel’s main concern was her own image and she tried to find a way to deflect blame.

Anne Spiegel was also worried that Roger Lewentz, the Social Democrat interior minister, would hold her accountable. „I would not be happy if Roger said that the disaster could have been prevented or would not have been so serious if we, the Ministry of the Environment, had warned earlier and that it was our fault, because we underestimated the situation,” Spiegel then wrote in a message. She later expressed his regret in a Twitter post.

Das Ende der erstaunlichen Presseerklärung von Bundesministerin #AnneSpiegel zu den Vorwürfen gegen Sie im Zusammenhang mit der Flutkatastrophe heute Abend. pic.twitter.com/JUThTY8VrE

— Markus Feldenkirchen (@MFeldenkirchen) April 10, 2022