For some it is the foundation stone for a good future, for others it is building it: the state budget for 2022. The green-black spending plans divide tempers.
Stuttgart - The budget plans of the green-black state government for the coming year are met with fierce opposition. The FDP, SPD and AfD accused the governing parties of sleight of hand during the budget debate in the state parliament in Stuttgart. SPD parliamentary group leader Andreas Stoch criticized the fact that new loans were taken out via the supplementary budget for the 2020/2021 double budget in order to be able to present itself free of debt. "It is remarkable how stupid the coalition thinks the people in the country are," said FDP parliamentary group leader Hans-Ulrich Rülke.
Stoch spoke of a “budget of lack of ideas”: From the Social Democrats' point of view, green-black is not lacking money, but ideas. Stoch called for more spending on education, for example. The planned 365-euro ticket for young people must be extended to senior citizens and other people. Baden-Württemberg is doing better than any other country in Germany, but the government is not taking advantage of the leeway. "Finally unpack the excavator!"
The FDP's criticism goes in a different direction, but the Liberals are also dissatisfied with the budget. Rülke criticized the growth in the budget and the inflation of the government apparatus. This has grown from 2,900 to 4,000 jobs since 2011. The green-black coalition is using the pandemic "to get into more and more debt under its guise". Real investments are needed instead of more and more consumer spending. According to the AfD parliamentary group leader Bernd Gögel, the government lives off the substance and is putting at risk what two generations have built.
Finance Minister Danyal Bayaz (Greens), on the other hand, spoke of a “budget of transition”. The corona crisis, which is worsening again, requires sufficient reserves, for example for the corona booster vaccinations. Bayaz also cited the conclusions of the collective bargaining negotiations as well as the increasing number of refugees and the need for support of the municipalities as budget risks. A large part of the remaining spending is earmarked, there is no money lying around.
Bayaz defended himself against allegations by the FDP that the government would continue to inflate the budget. It is neither honest nor serious to just look at the absolute numbers, he said in the debate. “A state budget does not move in a vacuum.” The formal budget volume in the south-west has increased by a good 40 percent since 2012. But also the economic output rose in the period by 35 percent, the tax revenue by 33 percent. "The growing budget is an expression of the successful economic development in this state." A strong state like Baden-Württemberg is dependent on public institutions.
The draft for the 2022 budget stipulates that the government will not take on any new debts in the next year and will repay almost half a billion euros of the corona loans.
In addition, Grün-Schwarz wants to invest around 915 million euros - the majority of the expenditure will go into political projects that have been defined for a long time.
With 130 million euros, educational deficits in schools are to be combated.
More than 50 million euros are to flow into climate protection, 160 million euros into the rehabilitation of state roads and bridges.
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For the opposition, the government is setting the wrong priorities in terms of content.
Gögel criticized that all fields would be subjected to the “climate religion”.
The bright yellow image campaign of the state with the title "Baden-Württemberg - The Länd" also came under the crosshairs of criticism in the budget debate.
With this, the country wants to attract foreign skilled workers.
One could lure them into the country by abolishing tuition fees for foreign students, said Stoch.
The 21 million euros raised for the campaign are already half the amount needed to abolish tuition fees.
The government is saving in the budget for the anti-Semitism commissioner and teaching posts, but is spending more than 20 million on the campaign, criticized Rülke.
At the same time, he questioned why the government had all of Baden-Württemberg advertised if they wanted to attract skilled workers from abroad.
And what do teachers and policemen say?
The state chairman of the education union GEW, Monika Stein, spoke on Wednesday of a “great disappointment for all education politicians”.
The budget will severely damage the previously good reputation of Minister of Education Theresa Schopper (Greens).
Schopper had previously been flashed off with her wishes for hundreds of other jobs.
The German police union was also disappointed.
Country chief Ralf Kusterer complained that from 2022 collective bargaining workers in the police who are going into retirement will not be replaced.
This leads to cuts in internal security.
Thousands of workers were missing from the police.
dpa