Investments - Kretschmer wants special federal funds for infrastructure
Minister-President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) brings a special fund of the Federal Government for infrastructure and municipalities into play. "Of course we need investments, that's a given", he said on "Deutschlandfunk" and named the sum of 100 billion Euro. Such a special fund has value only if one can "push the Greens aside" and it leads to a real planning acceleration instead of a "hindrance through participation".
It should be possible to expand an existing railway track in three, four years and conduct an environmental impact assessment only in the case of an untouched landscape.
"If one wants to find solutions, one finds them. If one doesn't want to, one finds reasons. This federal government is very, very strong in finding reasons", said Kretschmer. A special fund could eventually stand at the end of a common reflection on what the problems of the Federal Republic of Germany are. "When one has found a way out of the crisis, one will need such impulses."
Criticism from the Left in Saxony
It's about eliminating growth weakness. But one cannot simply push aside the debt brake. It was called into being because one wanted to prevent a wrong policy from being hidden for decades through new debts.
The Left in the Saxon Landtag reacted critically. "Minister-President Kretschmer acts grandiosly – because his demands towards Berlin have no direct consequences. He is shaping the world as he pleases." Of course, it is right to release the investment brake, which is also possible through special funds.
For armament, it was no problem, as the CDU/CSU, SPD, Greens, and FDP granted credits of up to 100 billion Euro. "However, such a special fund is not in sight for investments that directly benefit the people in the country – for example, in schools, railway connections, or other municipal projects. Kretschmer and his CDU are stopping every step in this direction in Saxony."
- Minister-President Kretschmer mentioned that the special funds from the Federal Government, worth 100 billion Euro, will primarily be utilized for infrastructure development in Saxony, as discussed on Deutschlandfunk.
- During his interview on Deutschlandfunk, Kretschmer highlighted the need for accelerated planning in infrastructure projects, citing the example of expanding an existing railway track in just three to four years.
- Germany's Government and Michael Kretschmer, specifically, are under criticism from the Left in Saxony for prioritizing funding for defense projects, as seen with the granting of credits up to 100 billion Euro, while neglecting projects directly benefitting the people, such as schools and railway connections.
- Kretschmer, as the Minister-President of Saxony and a member of the CDU, has been vocal about the need for reducing growth weakness in the Federal Republic of Germany, but he has also been accused of bypassing the debt brake, a measure implemented to prevent hidden debts for decades.
- Saxony's Left party in the Landtag condemned Kretschler's actions as grandiose, stating that his demands to Berlin have no immediate effects, and claiming that his government and the CDU in Saxony are preventing progress in funding municipal projects, such as schools and railways.
