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Christian Dürr (FDP): "We turn every euro and every cent three times over".
Photo: Kay Nietfeld / dpa
The traffic light coalition is planning to once again significantly increase the number of staff in the federal government.
In order to protect the state coffers, which are particularly strained in times of the pandemic, the FDP wants to cut other positions in the government apparatus.
“There was an increase in staff at various points in the federal government, some of which was unnecessary.
We will eliminate positions in the federal government that have become superfluous,” said Christian Dürr, leader of the FDP parliamentary group, to the “Rheinische Post”.
Every third job planned for the new Ministry of Construction
In mid-December, the traffic light coalition had applied to the budget committee for 176 new jobs, and a further 148 jobs in the ministries and in the chancellery are to be included in the supplementary budget for 2021, according to a list of personnel from the budget working groups of the SPD, Greens and FDP.
Around every third position is intended for the newly founded Ministry for Housing, Building and Urban Development.
Other additional positions are to be created, among other things, to combat right-wing extremism, for a new climate policy department in the Federal Foreign Office, for the procurement and distribution of vaccines or for a new department for the planned citizen's income.
The FDP also wants to save elsewhere. “We also check whether funding programs are still effective,” announced Dürr. “The Baukindergeld, for example, only led to deadweight effects, which is why no additional house was built.” Basically, it should be checked which programs are not achieving their goals – and then acted accordingly.
"We turn every euro and cent three times over, even in a pandemic," emphasized Dürr.
»The goal is that the new debt in 2022 will not be a three-digit billion sum.
On the one hand, we rely on higher tax revenues.
On the other hand, we're scouring the budget for savings."
Dürr's demand: "We have to strengthen the economy in such a way that the tax revenue will soon balance the budget again."
At the end of the three-day Bundestag debate on the plans of the traffic light government, Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) will present his plans on Friday morning.
A controversial debate is expected, among other things, about the planned supplementary budget for 2021.
muk/dpa
