The coalition is pushing many laws through parliament, criticizes the opposition in the Bundestag. There is far too little time left. There is now also criticism from the Federal Council.
A heated debate broke out in the Bundestag about the consequences of a decision by the Federal Constitutional Court. Opposition speakers called for more time in legislative processes.
Union faction leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) said that the SPD, Greens and FDP had made parliament a “place where debate was refused and a place where laws were pushed through”. Confidence in the Bundestag had been lost. Left parliamentary group leader Dietmar Bartsch criticized that the deputies were not extras.
After the Federal Constitutional Court temporarily stopped the Building Energy Act (GEG), the Union had requested a debate in the Bundestag. The court had expressed doubts as to whether the rights of the deputies were sufficiently protected. “The deputies not only have the right to vote in the German Bundestag, but also the right to deliberate,” the court said. The CDU MP Thomas Heilmann had applied for a temporary injunction because of the tight schedule in the legislative process.
The GEG was actually supposed to be passed today. According to the plans of the traffic light coalition, it should now be decided at the beginning of September after the summer break, which begins after this Friday. It aims to make heating in Germany more climate-friendly by gradually replacing oil and gas heating systems.
The Karlsruhe judges made a decision in an urgent procedure. The main proceedings are still pending.
“Need much, much more thoughtfulness”
AfD faction leader Alice Weidel accused the traffic light coalition of leaving citizens in the dark about the costs of the heating law. With a view to the speed of the process, which has now been slowed down, she explained to the government factions: “They are afraid of the citizens, of their own voters.” She demanded: “Use the pause for thought that the Federal Constitutional Court has given you and stamp out this unspeakable law completely.”
Till Steffen from the Greens opposed it. “There are reasons why laws sometimes have to go faster.” In the last session of the Bundestag, this happened more often because of the pandemic. He pleaded for self-confidence to the Federal Constitutional Court. The Bundestag should itself ensure sufficient deadlines.
Bartsch complained that haste in legislative processes had been a problem for many years. What the Bundestag had experienced in the past week was “unworthy of our democracy”. “We need a lot, a lot more thoughtfulness.”
Heilmann called for more time for consultations on legislative processes. It would be important for Parliament to limit its pace. “We need a speed limit.” You cannot continue in the current way. Heilmann appealed for Parliament to implement tighter, more binding regulations on timelines. Of course there must be exceptions. But one should not wait until the constitutional court makes rules of procedure for the Bundestag.
“Contempt of Parliament”
Merz said that in the decades-long average of the work of the Bundestag, about every sixth law was passed with a shorter deadline. This year, however, three out of four laws of the coalition were no longer discussed with the observance of the deadlines provided by law and the rules of procedure. “This is a disregard for Parliament on a scale never seen before in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.”
The FDP MP Konstantin Kuhle said that the procedure for the heating law had contributed to the uncertainty. You have to say that self-critically. It was now right not to hold a special session in the summer. The Greens politician Julia Verlinden said that there was by no means a shortening of the deadline for the heating law. She was opposed to Union populism.
Merz criticized that the traffic light wanted to put the law in unchanged form on the agenda in September. This is a “further expression of disrespect and ignorance” towards the Bundestag. The Union wants a fresh start with the heating law. He offered the coalition to take the time to think about how the population’s trust in the Bundestag could be strengthened over the summer break.
Hesse’s Prime Minister Boris Rhein (CDU) demanded more respect from the traffic light coalition towards the federal states. “We have to return to treating each other with respect, in which the rights of the constitutional bodies are respected,” said the CDU politician in the Bundesrat. Rhein criticized that the Federal Council also had to discuss more and more bills in shortened procedures. This now applies to almost half of all submissions.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
