In the Bundestag this Wednesday, the budget for the Chancellery is at stake. However, its numbers only play a marginal role – they are the occasion for an exchange of blows between the government and the opposition. And the latter hands out.
It is the highlight of the budget week in the Bundestag: the general debate. For four hours this Wednesday, however, it is less about federal finances. Rather, the debate is used for criticism, for billing against the government, in this case the traffic light.
Traditionally, the chairman of the largest opposition faction opened the debate, i.e. CDU leader Friedrich Merz. He criticized the child benefit and the citizen benefit. With these services, the traffic light wants to develop a patronizing, all-regulating and paternalistic state. As SPD general secretary in 2002, Scholz spoke of the “air sovereignty over the children’s beds, which the SPD had to achieve,” said Merz in the general debate in the Bundestag. “You’ve come a long way down that path.”
Merz: Scholz wants “air sovereignty over children’s beds”
The basic child security is “exactly what you want to achieve: air sovereignty over the children’s beds, over the families, over this society, so that you can shape it according to your own ideas”. Turning to the Chancellor, Merz said that the Union was not only arguing about details of the budget, but also fundamentally contradicted the understanding of the state of traffic lights.
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The CDU leader also accused the coalition of not doing justice to the challenges posed by the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine when financing the Bundeswehr. “In the case of the SPD and the Greens, the unpopular Bundeswehr child remains largely structurally underfinanced,” criticized Merz. With a view to FDP leader Christian Lindner, who on Tuesday pointed out future imminent financial gaps in the Bundeswehr, Merz said: “Since yesterday at the latest we have had two opposition leaders – one in parliament and one in the government.
The CDU man also criticized excessive bureaucracy, the building energy law and demanded openness to technology in the building and transport sector. It is no surprise that the traffic light with its ban policy has missed the climate targets for the second year in a row. The majority of the people in the country no longer support the climate policy of the government because they are tired of being confronted only with bans, regulations, incalculable costs and bureaucratic requirements.
The so-called citizen money would be designed by the Union in such a way that work is more worthwhile than receiving state transfer payments, emphasized Merz. People did not go back into employment because they could calculate that they would get more out of government transfers than if they had to work in a simple job and pay social security contributions and taxes.
Legislation à la traffic light
The rules are clear. But why make it easy when you can make it difficult for yourself?
AfD calls for new elections: “Traffic light time has expired”
If the traffic light followed the Union’s proposals, there would quickly be scope for major tax reform, said Merz. Then you could finally abolish the solidarity contribution, which would help medium-sized companies in particular quickly and effectively. “But they don’t want that because, of course, in all their class struggle rhetoric they only talk about the rich and the broad shoulders, which they think they have to burden more and more,” Merz exclaimed to applause from his own ranks.
Equally sharp words came from the AfD. Their boss, Tino Chrupalla, immediately called for new elections in the general debate. “The time for the traffic light is up,” said Chrupalla, criticizing the government for energy prices, inflation and the heating law, among other things. He also accused the coalition of a “negligent and misguided migration policy” and especially the Greens in the traffic light a policy hostile to the economy.
Addressing the Chancellor, he said: “Please open both eyes again, if you can, and see how the German economy is reacting, how it’s slipping, and finally take care of the backbone of this country, the German economy. ” Chrupalla rejected attacks by the other parties on his party and accused them of “not wanting to represent the interests of the citizens for a long time”. The AfD is not in the government. “You should finally start criticizing yourself and your political achievements and maybe just ask yourself: why is there an alternative for Germany?”
Left draws comparison to the Weimar Republic
Left parliamentary group leader Amira Mohamed Ali also spoke of a “major economic crisis” in Germany and disapproved of the traffic light budget plans. “We must not save now, we need large investment packages.” Many people are rightly angry that billions of euros should be cut out of the budget for armaments and that everywhere else people are skimping and saving. The planned basic child security is insufficient and a “false labeling”.
Mohamed Ali complained that Scholz downplayed the problems in the country and glossed over “bad government action”. She did not respond to the “Germany Pact” offered by Scholz for a national effort to speed up modernization – and drew a historical bow.
“There was once a chancellor who ruined Germany with his austerity policy: Heinrich Brüning, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic from 1930 to 1932. And we know where that led and which political forces became strong as a result,” said Mohamed Ali with regard to the National Socialists. But you can learn from history.
The budget plans of the individual departments will be discussed in the first reading until Friday. Defense, foreign affairs and transport are also on the agenda on Wednesday. According to the current status, the overall budget is to be adopted on December 1st.
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.
