- Ampel wants to calm budget dispute
The Traffic Light Coalition appears to be pulling together in the new row over the federal budget. Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) showed willingness to discuss in an interview and advised a factual discussion. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil said the federal government must now clarify calmly where the missing five billion euros could come from. His expectation is that the federal government does its job "and then we don't always have to put on this public dance."
The budget dispute of the Traffic Light Coalition had flared up again in recent days. Background are three projects that were supposed to reduce the financing gap in the budget for the coming year by a total of eight billion euros. Lindner had commissioned expert opinions to evaluate the plans due to legal and economic concerns. These confirmed the concerns in part, but also showed ways to implement at least two of the three measures.
Lindner wants to increase the equity of the railway
Lindner explained that it was quite conceivable for him to convert planned subsidies to the German Railway of 3.6 billion euros into equity or loans. This project is legally feasible according to the expert opinions - although a loan to the indebted federal corporation is not considered economically sensible by the scientific advisory board of the Ministry of Finance. This would reduce the financing gap in the budget to around five billion euros, said Lindner to the New Berlin Editorial Society.
The FDP leader does not want to pursue the idea of the Chancellery to use unused gas price brake funds of the promotional bank KfW in the amount of 4.9 billion euros elsewhere in the budget. Both expert opinions had assessed this as potentially illegal.
Disagreement over financial injection for the highway company
Regarding the third project, loans for the highway company, Lindner said it depends on the design. "With the Autobahn GmbH, a completely new model would have to be created, as it has no income for repayment. There is skepticism here." Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had explained on Tuesday that a strengthening of the railway and the highway company is still possible after the expert opinions.
Until mid-August, Scholz, Lindner, and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) want to search for solutions again. The views still differ, said Lindner. "There is still a need for clarification and decision-making." The budget draft is to be forwarded to the Bundestag next week, which needs a lot of time for consultation.
Criticism of the communication style
Habeck told the Funke media group that he would only express himself on the matter when a solution has been found. At the same time, it was said from his environment that the Minister of Economics was very irritated by the procedure of his cabinet colleague Lindner, who published an expert opinion unilaterally and selectively instead of consulting with the government partners about solutions.
SPD leader Klingbeil also sharply criticized the communication. "It could have been avoided to argue again in public," he said. The evaluation of the expert opinions could have taken place in the background, quietly and quietly. "That is government action that should not be a drama in society, but should take place."
The oppositional Union took umbrage at Scholz and advised the FDP to leave the traffic light coalition. Scholz had complained in "Zeit Online" that the actually clear verdict of the legal opinion had been "temporarily fundamentally misunderstood". He didn't mention Lindner - but for the Union, it's clear nonetheless: "A federal chancellor who publicly denies his finance minister's competencies and treats him like a schoolboy is a one-off." Union budget policy spokesman Christian Haase told the "Rheinische Post" that the incident underscores the coalition's divisions.
The Traffic Light Coalition, specifically Finance Minister Christian Lindner, proposed converting 3.6 billion euros of planned subsidies to the German Railway into equity or loans, a suggestion that was deemed legally feasible by expert opinions, reducing the budget deficit to approximately 5 billion euros.
Despite the ongoing budget dispute within the Traffic Light Coalition, SPD leader Lars Klingbeil criticized the communication style, stating that the evaluation of expert opinions could have been conducted privately, avoiding public arguments.
