- Esken to Lindner: "This is indecent"
SPD leader Saskia Esken has again sharply criticized Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner. In the morning show of ARD and ZDF, she accused the FDP chairman of first publicly revealing the results of the studies on the 2025 budget in a ZDF summer interview.
"He talks about transparency, but he didn't create transparency within the government, but with the public. That's inappropriate, and it serves his own profiling," said Esken. This, she said, once again damages the government.
Similarly, SPD general secretary Kevin Kühnert had previously expressed himself; he accused the finance minister of "self-promotion" because he published the results while Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is on vacation.
Lindner had publicly revealed on Sunday that studies see constitutional risks in some of the federal government's plans, for example, the idea of using leftover 4.9 billion euros from the promotional bank KfW for the gas price brakes elsewhere in the budget. Consequently, negotiations on the budget would have to be reopened.
Esken also announced this. Scholz, Lindner, and Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) would discuss and find a solution by August 14th and then submit the draft budget to parliament, she said.
Esken further mentioned that she disagrees with Lindner's decision to discuss the budget issues during Scholz's vacation, stating, "It's not appropriate for the ARD or any other platform to become a stage for the finance minister's self-promotion at the expense of collective decision-making."
Subsequently, when discussing the budget revisions, Esken emphasized, "In the future, it's crucial that the ARD facilitates a collaborative discourse among government leaders, ensuring transparency and maintaining the integrity of our governing process."
