As of: January 30, 2024, 12:26 p.m
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Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Alliance 90/The Greens) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) are following the debate at the start of budget week.
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
The Bundestag wants to decide on the budget for 2024 this week with a delay.
The traffic light fought hard for austerity measures.
But the Union now thinks: In reality, there is no saving at all.
Berlin - At the beginning of the crucial budget week in the Bundestag, the opposition accused the traffic light coalition of a failed budget policy.
The SPD, Greens and FDP wanted to show people that they were prioritizing hard and cutting spending.
In reality, no savings were being made at all, the Union in particular criticized.
The AfD accused the coalition of once again introducing an unconstitutional budget.
This week the Bundestag will finally discuss the budget for the current year.
The vote is scheduled to take place on Friday; before that, MPs will debate the plans for the individual ministries.
Billion holes need to be plugged
The federal budget for 2024 presented the traffic light coalition with a particular challenge.
After the Federal Constitutional Court's ruling, billions in holes suddenly had to be plugged in the core budget and in the climate and transformation fund shortly before the end of the year.
The SPD, Greens and FDP agreed on a savings program that includes, among other things, a higher CO2 price and the gradual abolition of tax advantages for farmers.
In total, expenditure of 476.8 billion euros and new loans of around 39 billion euros are now planned.
The debt brake anchored in the Basic Law will nevertheless initially be adhered to because it allows a certain amount of leeway in the event of poor economic expectations.
However, if Germany receives higher support payments for Ukraine, the traffic light reserves the right to suspend the debt brake again.
Lindner: Traffic light coalition has “design ambition”
Finance Minister Christian Lindner defended the plans against criticism from the opposition.
The traffic light demonstrates “design ambition,” he said.
“I'm not talking about an austerity budget, but rather a design budget.” Rarely has a federal budget been discussed so intensively - “but it was worth it,” emphasized Lindner.
“We are on the way to financial normality.”
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Christian Lindner: “We are on the way to financial normality.” © Michael Kappeler/dpa
Lindner referred to record investments in rail, road and networks.
At the same time, the tax rate for the population is falling.
Although some crisis-related aid has expired, relief is being provided elsewhere.
All of this is happening within the framework of the debt brake.
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Instead, Union budget keeper Mathias Middelberg emphasized: “We live massively beyond our means.” The traffic light wants to spend significantly more money than in 2019, before the Corona crisis.
What is needed, however, is a real reform package with changes to citizens' benefits and a limitation on migration.
The budget is also socially immature with regard to farmers.
AfD householder Peter Boehringer accused the traffic light of concealing new debts through special assets.
The new debt is actually much higher than indicated by the traffic lights.
In fact, investments in the Bundeswehr are financed through a special fund that is exempt from the debt brake.
A moment of smiles: Robert Habeck (lr), Christian Lindner and Olaf Scholz.
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
Green party deputy Andreas Audretsch criticized that the Union wanted an “austerity dictate”.
The traffic lights, on the other hand, provide solutions.
Audretsch referred to investments worth billions in factory settlements, which the CDU prime ministers were also in favor of.
The FDP chief budget officer Otto Fricke complained that the Union did not say a single word in its proposals about where it wanted to get the money from and that it was refusing to engage in democratic discourse.
SPD budget manager Dennis Rohde also accused the Union of not submitting a single amendment to the budget.
dpa