Government rejects citizen's income demands
Time and again, conservative politicians in particular have been campaigning against an increase in the Citizen's Income at the turn of the year. There is a clear rejection of such demands from parts of the SPD. Meanwhile, discussions on the budget are said to be "very constructive".
The federal government is sticking to the planned twelve percent increase in citizens' income at the turn of the year - despite criticism from within its own coalition. The increase has already been approved by the cabinet and parliament and is therefore "valid law", said a spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs in Berlin. A new law would have to be passed for any changes to be made - but the federal government has no plans to do so. Social Affairs Minister Hubertus Heil called the criticism of the increase "morally irresponsible".
Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit made it clear that "there are no plans within the federal government to change the legal situation". The government could not simply postpone or cancel the increase. "It would be against the law to do so," said Hebestreit - and emphasized that the federal government "abides by the law".
Minister Heil criticized it as "morally irresponsible and incompatible with the constitution to deny these people an adjustment of the standard rates". The statements "made by various conservative politicians are not a contribution to the solution, but are poisoning the social climate", he explained.
The coalition party FDP and the opposition CDU/CSU had previously called for the planned increase in social benefits at the turn of the year to be canceled. They justified this on the one hand with the savings constraints in the 2024 budget and on the other hand with the fact that the increase in rates by twelve percent was based on an inflation expectation, which, however, did not occur at the predicted level.
Food prices make an increase necessary
CDU leader Friedrich Merz said on ARD television on Sunday evening that, in view of the fall in inflation, a twelve percent increase in the citizen's income was "simply too much". This weakens the incentive to look for a job. Merz called on the federal government to correct the planned increase. The CDU leader backed the FDP, whose Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai had called for the increase to be waived at the weekend.
The basis for calculating the increase in the citizen's allowance is laid down by law and the exact increase is set by the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs every year by the end of October. A spokesperson for the SPD-led ministry pointed out that it was not the general inflation rate that played a role here, but a "price index relevant to regular needs". In this index, foodstuffs, for example, for which the inflation rate is above average, are weighted particularly heavily.
In recent months, the price increase in this index, which is based on regular needs, has at times been three to four percentage points higher than the general price increase, said the ministry spokesperson. "Of course, this also has an impact on the amount of the update," he added.
Government must find 17 billion euros
The debate about the Citizen's Income is being fueled by the federal government's budgetary difficulties. According to Finance Minister Christian Lindner, there is a gap of 17 billion euros in the federal government's core budget for the coming year. This is also a result of the constitutional court ruling on budget management.
According to government spokesperson Hebestreit, the coalition leaders are continuing their "intensive talks" this week in order to reach an agreement on the budget. These talks are being held in a small circle by Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the SPD, Finance Minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner and Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck of the Greens.
In consultation with the Chancellor, the latter canceled his planned departure to the World Climate Conference in Dubai on Monday evening. The Vice-Chancellor would not make the trip in order to "also be physically present" at the budget talks, said Hebestreit. "When three people sit together and want to talk to each other, it's always good if all three are there," added Hebestreit. He admitted that canceling the trip to Dubai had been a "difficult decision".
Hebestreit did not want to commit to a date for the adoption of the budget. Scholz said in the evening after the government consultations with the Brazilian head of state that the coalition was "working intensively on this". It was going "very constructively" and "with the will to reach an agreement quickly and swiftly".
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Despite the suggested decrease in inflation, Friedrich Merz, the CDU leader, believes that the twelve percent increase in citizen's income is "simply too much" and calls for a correction. The FDP, led by Bijan Djir-Sarai, aligns with this view, citing budgetary constraints and an inaccurate inflation expectation as reasons to cancel the increase.
The Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, under the leadership of SPD's Hubertus Heil, disagrees with this stance, considering it "morally irresponsible" and incompatible with the constitution to deny the adjustment of standard rates due to inflation.
With a budgetary gap of 17 billion euros, the German Federal Government, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Finance Minister Christian Lindner, and Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck of the Greens, is under pressure to find solutions. In order to focus on budgetary discussions, Lindner decided to cancel his planned trip to the World Climate Conference in Dubai.
Source: www.ntv.de
