Actually, Federal Minister of Family Affairs Franziska Giffey (SPD) had a good position among those civil society actors who are involved in promoting democracy. After all, it was she who announced last year that she had put a stop to the federal program "Living Democracy" and that it would continue after 2020.
For weeks, however, the criticism of Giffey and her ministry does not stop. Because the program is being restructured, the funds are being redistributed - many organizations get cancellations on their applications.
In addition, the funds were cut: this year lacked compared to the previous year eight million euros. And in the years to 2024, the funding falls significantly from currently 115 million euros to less than 40 million euros - if the government does not redirect.
At least for the coming year, the situation has eased: Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD), with whom Giffey has repeatedly negotiated the missing eight million euros, drew after the criticism suddenly: "Today I have agreed with Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz that the federal program 'Democracy live!' will continue at the same level as 2019 in 2020, "Giffey told SPIEGEL on Wednesday. "That means an increase over the government's budget of eight million euros."
Bernd of Jutrczenka / DPA
Family Minister Giffey: "This is only possible with a democracy promotion law"
However, Giffey does not want to accept the criticism of the organizations regarding the restructuring: "Due to legal requirements, good projects can not simply be further promoted simply because they are good, even if we would like to do that," she says. After all, it is a federal program that can only support temporary model projects. "We lack the legal basis to enter into a permanent promotion," said Giffey, "that is only possible with a democracy promotion law".
Giffey has been advocating such a law for some time. It could consolidate the structures and eliminate the problem of having to renegotiate the funds over and over again, the organizations could then be permanently promoted, better plan their work. But the Union does not want such a law, negotiated it out of the coalition agreement again out. Giffey promises, "I'll keep campaigning with our coalition partners."
Migrant organizations write a call to the federal government
The problem: As long as this does not exist, the organizations worry even more about the planned reduction in funding, now just from the year 2021. "The decision of the Federal Government, the civic commitment to democracy and against extremism not to expand, we can not in any Understand this way, "write nearly 30 migrant organizations in a call to the Federal Government, which already exists the SPIEGEL.
These include the Federal Network of Migrant Organizations, the Migration Council Berlin, the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma and the New German Media Makers.
"We live in times where right-wing parades are part of the agenda, Hate Speech is omnipresent on the Net, and neo-Nazis are moving into parliaments," it says. The debates would constantly revolve around migrants and refugees, racism and attacks in the public space would noticeably increase.
Nevertheless, an extraordinary number of the undersigned organizations have already received a rejection from the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs for their project applications, the initial signatories said: "This means that a considerable part of the engagement of people with racist experiences will fall by the wayside - our offers and our spaces will not be so give." Volunteers could not and do not want to do that, they write.
The government is now calling for a Democracy Funding Act, an increase in funding to 200 million euros per year up to and including 2024, as well as explicit support for those projects "by and for black people, Sinti and Roma, migrant organizations and other initiatives of people with racist experiences".
