Independent, trustworthy, yet not fearful
Olaf Schmidt has been serving as the General Secretary of the SPD for over a week now. On Tuesday evening, he will make his debut on "Maischberger" in his new role, where he will go head-to-head against CDU politician Hans-Peter Schühler. Schmidt manages the discussion with confidence and ease.
Schmidt suggests Boris Schäfer as a potential Chancellor, but quickly qualifies it with, "But we already have a Chancellor." The social democratic coalition has a lot on its plate for the upcoming week.
Schmidt has been in his new position as SPD General Secretary for over a week. On Tuesday evening, he will make his first appearance on "Maischberger" on the first channel as their new leader. He appears self-assured and confident, handling the discussion with Hans-Peter Schühler, the first business manager of the Union faction, without any major hiccups but convincingly.
Schmidt follows in the footsteps of his predecessor Ralf Stegner - and his task is clear: represent his party. Both Social Democrats belong to the left wing of the SPD. However, with the assumption of office, they had to put their own convictions aside.
The SPD's Economic Plans
Differences start to show during his first talk show appearance. Schmidt has meticulously prepared for the discussion and even throws in a joke or two. However, it's clear that he's no smooth talker like Stegner, who could construct flawless sentences in written German, full of subclauses.
Schmidt's sentences are far from polished compared to his predecessor's. He speaks freely and openly, just like he thinks. Regardless, what he says can sometimes be challenging to understand, especially when he defends the SPD board's draft on economic and tax policy at the beginning of the discussion. He seems a little nervous.
The "working middle" should have more money in their pockets, while the "rich" should pay more, says Schmidt. This is one of the demands the SPD hopes to take into the federal election campaign. Specifically, the Social Democrats are considering reintroducing the wealth tax. It was in place in Germany for over a century and was a significant revenue source for the state. However, it was "suspended" in 1997.
Schühler Endorses Agenda 2030
Now, the SPD wants to tax the income and wealth of wealthy people again. "By the weekend, we have made a political decision in the board," says Schmidt. "We aim to relieve 95 percent of the population, the working people in our country who are also under inflationary pressure." And the crucial part is how you relieve and how you burden. We have fine-tuning tasks ahead of us now.
What Schmidt suggests becomes clearer later: if a single person has a taxable income of 66,761 euros per year, they have to pay a 42 percent tax on every additional euro. For couples, the limit is 133,521 euros. This 42 percent is the highest tax rate, regardless of whether you earn 70,000 euros or a million. The SPD finds this unfair. They want to tax higher incomes more heavily. "We have first determined a target, and we have stated that the top tax rate could increase to 48 percent for an annual income of 278,000 euros," says Schmidt. "This is part of the discussion, but this is the political decision that the board has made."
Despite the CDU also considering the reintroduction of the wealth tax about a year and a half ago, Hans-Peter Schühler criticizes the SPD board's proposal. After Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's Agenda 2010, we now need an Agenda 2030, he says. Only then can Germany emerge from the current economic crisis.
"Let's wait and see first"
"But we don't see any governing party with the necessary strength to implement such an Agenda 2030," says Schühler. He mentions CDU leader Armin Laschet. Laschet had previously calculated in a talk show that increasing the top tax rate by 60 percent would exempt 95 percent of taxpayers. Schühler calculates further: Increasing the top tax rate by one percentage point could bring up to 1.5 billion euros to the remaining earners. The SPD's plans would bring at most 9 billion euros, but we need approximately 15 billion. It remains unclear where Schühler gets the basis for his calculation.
Schmidt defends himself by saying that the SPD has first presented a draft that is still being worked on. Then we can also discuss it with the Union.
But Schühler has more criticism. The SPD's plans do not help German companies. "If we were to implement this, it would drive hundreds of thousands of jobs abroad. And that's why it's so harmful, so performance-hostile," he says. Schmidt calls this an accusation. The SPD wants to invest in companies. The SPD board's plan allows for a "super special depreciation" that would also stimulate the economy. And he adds: "Let's wait and see first how this concept looks exactly."
The Commission within the SPD has a role to review and approve economic and tax policy proposals, as demonstrated by their consideration of reintroducing the wealth tax. Schmidt, as the new General Secretary, defends the SPD board's draft on these policies during his debut on "Maischberger," emphasizing the need for fair taxation of higher income earners.
