Federal election 2021 in the news update: More than two thirds of Germans think the Bundestag is too big

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The majority of Germans consider the Bundestag, with its 709 members, to be too big

Photo:

John McDougall / AFP

More than 4,200 campaign-related crimes

9.00 a.m.:

In connection with the election campaign, according to a media report, the security authorities have so far registered more than 4,200 crimes.

The "Welt am Sonntag" refers to a survey among the federal states, only Hesse did not provide any specific figures.

Accordingly, it is primarily a matter of property damage, in particular to election posters.

But violent crimes, propaganda crimes and insults were also recorded.

According to the newspaper, not only offenses in the run-up to the federal election are included, but also cases in connection with other election campaigns such as in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin.

There, the state parliaments will be re-elected on this Sunday, parallel to the Bundestag.

The number coincides with information from the Federal Criminal Police Office in an internal situation report from which the "Welt am Sonntag" quotes.

Accordingly, the BKA had registered 4035 crimes two weeks before the federal election, including 42 violent crimes.

The authorities could not have assigned two thirds of the acts to any political spectrum, the rest were spread across the left-wing extremist and right-wing extremist spectrum.

Green state finance minister is critical of wealth tax

8.49

a.m

.:

Baden-Württemberg's Green Finance Minister Danyal Bayaz is critical of a wealth tax demanded by his party and is therefore flexible for any coalition negotiations on the subject.

"The wealth tax is in our election program - I personally see it skeptically, however," he told the "Wirtschaftswoche".

Baden-Württemberg has many owner-managed companies.

"With them, a wealth tax would go down the drain, I find that difficult."

According to his presentation, it would hardly be manageable for the tax administration.

"If they now have to count vintage cars every year and evaluate Picassos, that would be impossible," said Bayaz.

"One or the other topic would certainly be up for discussion in the negotiations."

The most likely coalition options after the Bundestag election this Sunday is a three-party coalition with the Greens and the FDP, led by the SPD or the Union.

The FDP categorically rejects a wealth tax.

Bayaz, however, advocated reducing the number of exceptions to inheritance tax and, if necessary, extending the payment over several years so that if there are high business assets, it "does not go to the substance and does not endanger jobs and investments."

Survey: The majority of Germans will not miss Merkel

6.35 a.m.:

A little more than half of Germans will not miss Angela Merkel as Chancellor, as a survey by the opinion research institute Civey on behalf of the »Augsburger Allgemeine« showed.

According to this, 52 percent will not be missing, 38 percent of those surveyed will miss Merkel, the rest were undecided.

Wealth tax: companies would reduce investments

5.45 a.m.:

The majority of German companies would reduce their investments if the wealth tax or property

levy were

reintroduced.

This is the result of a representative survey by the Ifo Institute on behalf of the Family Business Foundation, which according to a preliminary report is available in parts to the newspapers of the Funke media group.

Accordingly, 48.8 percent of companies state that they want to reduce their investments in the event of a new levy.

Another 10.4 percent would even stop investing completely.

Only 2.4 percent of the companies would increase their investments.

mik / ngo / dpa / Reuters / AFP