Finance Minister Christian Lindner is calling on ministries to save. © Michael Kappeler/dpa
Finance Minister Christian Lindner is calling on the ministries to implement strict austerity measures. The SPD and the Greens, on the other hand, want additional burdens for the rich in the dispute over the federal budget.
Berlin – On Wednesday (31 May), all ministries received the letters: Finance Minister Christian Lindner called for rigorous austerity measures. According to information from the Handelsblatt, with the exception of the Ministry of Defence, all ministries have to save money – but to varying degrees. Some ministries are even expected to get by with less money in 2024 than was previously envisaged in the medium-term financial planning.
Investments and social expenditure for which there are legal entitlements are to be excluded for the time being. However, cuts in benefits, including social spending, cannot be ruled out in principle if the ministries do not save sufficiently, writes the Handelsblatt.
Preparation of the federal budget: Lindner sends austerity measures to ministries
From circles of the Ministry of Finance, it was said that Finance Minister Christian Lindner had discussed the further procedure for the preparation of the budget on Wednesday with his colleagues. He and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had both stressed that the government draft should be available before the parliamentary summer recess from 7 July. This is also expected by the budget committee of the Bundestag, which will then continue to work with the draft.
Most recently, Lindner had identified a financing gap of around 20 billion euros in the budget plans for the coming year. Among other things, additional costs must be compensated for by the collective bargaining agreement in the public sector and higher interest rates. He insists that the debt brake enshrined in the Basic Law is adhered to and that the ministries instead pursue appropriate austerity programs.
Federal budget of Finance Minister Lindner: Coalition partners want additional burdens for the rich
But not all coalition partners of the traffic light support this course. For example, the ranks of the Greens and the SPD have repeatedly called for additional burdens for the rich to generate more revenue. From the point of view of the coalition partners, cuts in climate-damaging subsidies are also intended to relieve the burden on the expenditure side.
Andreas Audretsch, the deputy parliamentary group leader of the Greens, who is responsible for budget and finance, also criticized Lindner's austerity targets. "Lawnmower cuts are not a smart budget policy," he told dpa. "An austerity policy that endangers social programs, democracy projects, innovation and SME policies or environmental protection is detrimental to social cohesion and our future." In his view, cutting back on humanitarian aid and diplomacy would also be a mistake.
Video: Lindner expects 30 billion euros less tax revenue
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The alternative is obvious, said Audretsch: "It is inexplicable to continue to subsidize large company cars of the richest with billions on the one hand and to mothball sports or youth programs on the other." Now it is the task of the Minister of Finance, but also of the Chancellor, to present a draft budget that can be agreed. (fmü/dpa)