The German nanny state.

German government shows cracks over autobahn speed limit

Angela Merkel's coalition government showed another fault line over the Christmas holiday: her conservative transport minister petulantly dismissed Social Democrat calls for an autobahn speed limit.

The German coalition government is embroiled in a fresh row over imposing a speed limit on the autobahn, an old controversy that has been whipped into new life with the urgency of the climate crisis.

Leading members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), junior partners in Chancellor Angela Merkel's centrist coalition, have accused conservative Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer of an "obstinate blockading attitude" on the issue, after his ministry posted a tweet on Christmas Day that once again underlined Scheuer's antipathy to the idea.

"The Bundestag has rejected a speed limit with 498 to 126 votes," the tweet quoted Scheuer as saying. "Traffic should flow as well as possible — at night when driving is open and at peak time, e.g. Christmas. That's why we would like to control traffic intelligently, digitally and flexibly — without bans."

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