Stop wearing ties and collar Putin, says Spain’s leader

Pedro Sanchez urges staff to reduce use of air conditioning and cut down dependency on ‘aggressor’

SPAIN’S prime minister has urged office workers to stop wearing ties as part of efforts to take on Vladimir Putin’s war machine.

Addressing a news conference in Madrid, Pedro Sanchez said dressing down could help reduce the use of gasguzzling air conditioners.

“I would like you to see that I am not wearing a tie,” said Mr Sanchez, smiling broadly.

The prime minister said he has told ministers to ditch their ties and hoped workers in the private sector would follow suit.

Feeling more comfortable would mean “we all use less energy”, he said, reducing the need to power up fans or air conditioners.

Rising energy prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have dominated politics across Europe as heatwaves see temperature records tumble across the bloc.

Mr Sanchez said he would present a new energy-saving plan next week, but did not provide further details. It would cut down energy dependency on “the aggressor, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin”, he promised.

European countries agreed on Tuesday to an emergency plan to slash gas consumption by 15 per cent, amid fears that Mr Putin could cut supplies in retaliation for EU sanctions.

Several German cities said they would step up efforts to save energy.

Hanover in the north announced plans to only offer cold showers at public pools and sports centres and Berlin plans switching off spotlights illuminating its historic monuments.

The Oktoberfest beer festival could also be cancelled to save on gas, a Bavarian MP said.

Rosi Steinberger, a Green Party member of Bavaria’s regional parliament, told The New York Times that she was considering asking Munich, the capital of Bavaria and home to the beer festival, to cancel the event as part of a slew of energy-saving efforts.

“I haven’t asked yet,” she said. “But I also think that when people say there should be no taboos in what we consider – well, that’s what you have to think about.”

Germany is Europe’s biggest consumer of Russian gas, and its industrial sector is heavily dependent on it.

Before the war in Ukraine, more than half of the country’s gas supply came from Moscow.

Eva Weber, the mayor of Augsburg, said that the Bavarian city’s energy bills were expected to almost double last year’s €15.9 million (£13.3 million).

The city is turning off its famous fountains and has dimmed street lights. “We want to show the Augsburg citizens that we could be facing really hard times,” she said. “We all need to look to really save energy.”

An economic adviser to the city has said it should shut down its famous breweries before letting its chemical industry face gas shortages.

Similar measures to those in Germany have been put in place across Europe. Villages in France have also turned off streetlights at night, while Warsaw is offering incentives to house- holds that replace fossil fuel guzzling stoves with heat pumps.

Germany’s federal energy and water association said that the country was using nearly 15 per cent less gas than the same period last year, partly because of high prices.

If Oktoberfest were cancelled, it would be the third year in a row that the renowned beer festival and travelling funfair, which was first held in 1810, was not able to take place, after two years of pandemic cancellations.