Budget dispute in coalition continues - Mützenich wants to suspend debt brake

Budget dispute in coalition continues - Mützenich wants to suspend debt brake

Mützenich justified his call for the suspension of the debt brake in 2024 with the billions in aid for Ukraine. This should not be at the expense of social peace in Germany, he told the newspapers of the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) on Thursday. He warned that the budget agreement reached by the coalition leaders would provoke domestic political distribution conflicts. "We are entering the great danger of social division."

In an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio on Thursday morning, Mützenich defended his approach, which could reignite the internal budget dispute within the coalition. The SPD politician said that spending on international commitments should "not be at the expense of the people here". He believes that "even a parliamentary group leader from the largest government parliamentary group should be allowed to contribute something to this discussion".

Mützenich added that he was "a little doubtful" that the "Ampel" parties were really happy about the budget compromise reached by the coalition leaders. This scepticism regarding the compromise is also due to the fact that "those who were involved in it questioned it relatively quickly".

Green parliamentary group leader Dröge also addressed this point on Thursday: She accused the FDP of distancing itself from already agreed budget measures after the fact. Individual building blocks" could not be pulled out of the budget agreement - "then the whole package collapses", she told the newspapers of the Mediengruppe Bayern. She emphasized that all proposals had been negotiated with Christian Lindner (FDP) as Finance Minister.

Following the agreement reached by the coalition leaders, the FDP had announced its opposition to the planned abolition of the agricultural diesel subsidy and vehicle tax exemption. Dröge pointed out that the leaders of the parliamentary groups had also seen these proposals and had assumed joint responsibility in the coalition committee. "It does not inspire confidence if you act as if you had nothing to do with your own decisions."

SPD leader Lars Klingbeil urged the coalition to take more responsibility. "We must lead Germany through challenging times and position it strongly internationally," he told the "Tagesspiegel" newspaper. "Over the Christmas holidays, everyone should think about how they can better fulfill this responsibility."

The traffic light coalition bears responsibility for Europe's strongest economy. "I don't want to paint horror scenarios on the wall, but we must be aware of this responsibility," Klingbeil emphasized. He continued: "I am annoyed by how playfully some people deal with political conflicts."

The CDU/CSU criticized Mützenich's move to suspend the debt brake. "Mr. Mützenich has obviously still not grasped the limits of the debt brake set by the Federal Constitutional Court," said the deputy leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Mathias Middelberg (CDU), to Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland on Thursday.

The debt limit can only be suspended if a new crisis or emergency situation arises, the consequences of which could not be planned for in the budget and which place a considerable burden on the budget. "The cruel war in Ukraine has now also developed into a permanent challenge. Appropriate funds must therefore be regularly budgeted for by the budget legislator," argued Middelberg.

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1. The budget dispute within the coalition continues, with Rolf Mützenich from the SPD advocating for the suspension of the debt brake in 2024.
2. Mützenich believes that aid for Ukraine should not impact social peace in Germany and could potentially reignite the internal budget dispute.
3. In an interview with Deutschlandfunk, Mützenich defended his approach, stating that international commitments should not come at the expense of people in Germany.
4. Some within the coalition, like the FDP, oppose the suspension of the debt brake and have announced their opposition to certain budget measures.
5. Green parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge accused the FDP of distancing themselves from agreed budget measures after the fact, stating that this could threaten the entire budget agreement.
6. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil urged the coalition to take more responsibility, stating that Germany bears the responsibility for Europe's strongest economy.
7. The CDU/CSU criticized Mützenich's move to suspend the debt brake, arguing that only a new crisis or emergency situation can warrant such action.
8. The debt limit can only be suspended if the consequences could not be planned for in the budget and place a considerable burden on the budget.
9. Mützenich's call to suspend the debt brake follows criticism from Germany's international partners, who have called on Germany to do more to support Ukraine.
10. The debate within the coalition over the budget and Ukraine's aid continues, with some members of the coalition leadership advocating for different approaches.

Source: www.stern.de