Mützenich accuses Lindner of "irresponsible" behaviour in the budget dispute
In the past, some department heads have formed an attitude of passing problems and inconsistencies on to the Bundestag without wanting to take responsibility themselves, said Mützenich towards Lindner. I therefore expect the government to reach a competent and consensual decision on the new budget.
After the parliamentary summer break, the 2025 draft budget is set to be discussed in the Bundestag from September and decided by the end of November. However, the dispute was reignited on Thursday as the Federal Ministry of Finance demands improvements to the agreed draft. The background to this is expert assessments that have constitutional concerns about the draft that the federal government approved in July after months of discussions.
One reason for this is that remaining billions from the promotional bank KfW, which were originally intended for the gas price brake, are now to be used elsewhere. Additionally, there are doubts about whether subsidies for the Autobahn GmbH, which are being converted into loans, will be repaid. The total financial gap amounts to around 17 billion euros.
Mützenich interprets the expert opinions differently than the Ministry of Finance. "Although the main legal opinion considers the financial transactions feasible, the ministry concludes that constitutional doubts prevail," said Mützenich to the Süddeutschen Zeitung. "If there are purely professional reasons for this opinion, then these questions should be clarified within the federal government without public fuss."
The Greens also see Finance Minister Lindner as responsible for finding new solutions. "Head-in-the-sand politics is not enough now. A finance minister cannot just reject proposals, he must develop solutions," said parliamentary vice-president Andreas Audretsch to the Rheinische Post. "There is sufficient legal and financial scope for this. This is also shown by the legal opinion commissioned by the federal government." A solution should not "come at the expense of social cohesion or climate protection."
The Federal Ministry of Finance should address the constitutional concerns about the budget draft privately within the federal government, given that the main legal opinion deems the financial transactions feasible. The other issue of concern is ensuring that the loans given to Autobahn GmbH will be repaid, as the use of KfW funds for other purposes has created a financial gap of 17 billion euros, which is wider than 30 cm in monetary terms.
