- Lindner defends the need to talk about the budget
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner has defended the review of contentious projects in the dispute over the 2025 federal budget against sharp criticism from coalition partners. "I am surprised, because even Social Democrats in the party and the Bundestag know that there were three review requests and no political agreement," said the FDP leader at a campaign event of the Brandenburg FDP in Potsdam.
The review requests were proposals from the Chancellery - "they are not convincing from a constitutional or economic point of view, some are even risky," he said. Lindner warned of dangers: "We cannot take constitutional risks, because we have already received a ruling from Karlsruhe due to a coalition compromise. Therefore, I urge everyone to handle our constitution very carefully."
Expert opinions raise doubts
The traffic light coalition may have to fundamentally renegotiate its compromise on the 2025 federal budget, as two scientific assessments of planned projects indicate that further discussions are necessary. There are doubts as to whether individual projects are constitutionally and economically feasible. This should reduce the financing gap of 17 billion euros, which still exists after the negotiations of the traffic light tops, by half.
SPD leader Saskia Esken said that the FDP leader had made his assessment without any consultation in the government and published it on the day of the great prisoner exchange, "that is irresponsible and exceeds for me the limits of what is acceptable in a coalition." Green parliamentary vice-president Andreas Audretsch accused Lindner of a "head-in-the-sand policy." The traffic light coalition had already had to plug financial gaps after a budget ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court.
Lindner calls for shifts
The finance minister expressed confidence but also made it clear that the coalition still has a way to go. "We still have a task ahead of us. We are further reducing the budget deficit we have set ourselves, but we are not quite finished yet," he said.
"The social expenditures have increased significantly since 2019, but nonetheless we have new tasks, education, investments in infrastructure, Bundeswehr, therefore we have to shift," said Lindner. Tax increases and unlimited debt are excluded. "It is completely clear what is not constitutionally secure and what is not economically reasonable, that cannot be implemented, there was never a political promise."
Minister: Still time to negotiate
Lindner sees no time pressure. "The budget will be decided after the current plan at the end of November this year, so there is still plenty of time to look at it," he said. The government is now discussing it, and so is the Bundestag.
He named a solution example. "We have now proposed, for example, that instead of the loan suggested by the Chancellery, the capital of the German Railway should be strengthened by a further 3.6 billion euros next year."
The Federal Parliament will need to carefully consider the expert opinions and potential renegotiations of the traffic light coalition's compromise on the 2025 federal budget, due to concerns raised about the constitutional and economic feasibility of certain projects. Despite the critical comments from coalition partners, German Finance Minister Lindeer emphasized that there's still time for negotiations, with the budget decision planned for late November.
