Most Germans want to make budget cuts
Do without and save - that would be plan B for the budget crisis if the Germans could work it out themselves. Only very few want to raise taxes in order to get the planned projects off the ground. But who do they blame for the financial disaster?
Following the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court on the supplementary budget for 2021, the federal government will lack 60 billion euros over the next four years. What can be done? The parties have been discussing this question and the way out of the crisis since the day of the ruling. At 35%, more than a third of Germans believe that a federal government led by the CDU/CSU would cope better with the current budget crisis than the current traffic light coalition. A majority of 59% of Germans do not trust the CDU/CSU to manage the crisis better. Only the majority of supporters of the CDU/CSU parties themselves believe that a CDU/CSU-led federal government would cope better with the current budget crisis than the federal government.
When asked how the gaping billion-euro hole in the budget should be plugged, just under half of Germans (46%) are in favor of budget cuts or abandoning previously planned projects, according to the latest RTL/ntv trend barometer. Around a third (34%) believe that the federal government should take on additional debt to close the budget gap. 8 percent are in favor of tax increases to close the budget gap. 12% are not confident in their assessment of this question.
In the opinion of all German citizens, the most likely area to be cut in the budget is social benefits. This potential is seen by 19% of respondents, while 12% would cut subsidies for the economy. At 4%, only a few are in favor of cuts to investments in infrastructure.
More than half of Germans (53%) fear that the current budget crisis will have a negative impact on their own financial situation or that of their household. 43% do not believe that the budget crisis will have consequences for their own financial situation.
Only a minority of Germans believe that SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz (9%) is primarily responsible for the unconstitutional reallocation of 60 billion euros in the 2021 budget. At 7 percent, even fewer Germans consider the Green Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck to be most responsible.
FDP leader Christian Lindner, the current Finance Minister, is held most responsible of the three with 11%. Instead, the vast majority of 65% of Germans - across all political camps - believe that all three actors are equally responsible for the unconstitutional 2021 budget.
The data was collected by the market and opinion research institute Forsa for RTL Group Germany on November 24 and 27, 2023. Data basis: 1009 respondents. Statistical margin of error: +/- 3 percentage points.
Further information on Forsa hereForsa surveys on behalf of RTL Germany.
The RTL/ntv trend barometer, a survey conducted by Forsa, revealed that nearly half of Germans (46%) favor budget cuts or abandoning previously planned projects to tackle the budget crisis. In the same survey, 8% of Germans support tax increases to close the budget gap. Olaf Scholz, the SPD Chancellor, is only held primarily responsible for the unconstitutional reallocation of funds in the 2021 budget by a small minority (9%) of Germans. According to the survey, Christian Lindner, the FDP leader and current Finance Minister, is held most responsible (11%), but the majority of Germans (65%) believe that all three actors - Scholz, Habeck, and Lindner - are equally responsible.
Source: www.ntv.de
