Column Fried: As the coalition accidentally saves democracy

This week we want to make an elephant out of a mosquito. The coalition agreement is finished, a lot has been discussed about reducing the electricity price, rejections at the border, the costs of the mother’s pension and voluntary military service. However, it may be that an almost inconspicuous regulation on page 55, from line 1763, contributes much more to defend democracy against its enemies. This is a declared goal of the coalition, poured by Markus Söder to turn the black and red government as the “last cartridge of democracy”.

In order to understand why line 1763 looks like a mosquito on page 55, but the force of an elephant could have, it helps to visualize reports from local politicians. “In Erfurt we have a renovation backlog of 500 million euros in schools,” said city councilor Lilli Fischer from Thuringia’s state capital recently during an event of the Federal President. Leaves in the bottom of the auditorium, crumbling stairwells, unusable toilets – the usual picture. Hanover Mayor Belit ÖNAY reported in the “Tagesspiegel” by large savings packages in recent years. The result: “The city stalls, be it at public transport, the streets and schools.”

A big problem for many municipalities is old debts. Alexandra Gauß, the mayor of the Windeck community in North Rhine-Westphalia, described her financial needs as follows: “Today we burden us with debt that was created when I was still in kindergarten.” Windeck focused on childcare and the fire brigade. The money was missing for others. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the overall debt of the municipalities was 154.6 billion euros at the end of 2023.

The regulation on page 55, line 1763 of the coalition agreement now stipulates that the federal government will participate in a total of one billion euros in the next four years if countries such as the particularly affected North Rhine-Westphalia clammy municipalities free their old debts by taking liabilities into their households. So one wants to avoid that a large part of the money available in the town halls only flows only into interest and repayment. Instead, holes are to be stuffed in schools, bridges repaired, public transport improved.

Politically, three things can be held. First, the idea that the BUND takes over municipal old debts drove Olaf Scholz ahead of Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder during his time as Federal Minister of Finance. With the end of the traffic light, Scholz leaves a bill for the necessary change in the Basic Law. If municipalities will soon have more financial scope, they also owe this to the persistence of the liked to be piled up.

Secondly: Of course, Söder has paid off the approval of the CSU well. On page 55, line 1766 it can be read that the federal government also relieves the donor countries in financial equalization with a total of 1.6 billion euros – Bavaria benefits the most.

Third, many citizens rightly judge democracy according to whether the sidewalks are usable, open the swimming pool or the children sit in classrooms into which it does not rain into it. In short: whether the state works. It is therefore indicated to turn the mosquito in line 1763 on page 55 of the coalition agreement – in the best sense.