Mützenich dissatisfied with budget deal

SPD parliamentary group leader - Mützenich dissatisfied with budget deal

The dissatisfaction with the budget compromise reached by the coalition leaders in the governing parties continues. SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich has once again called for the debt brake to be suspended for the coming year and warned of a split in society if it is not. At the same time, he made it clear on Thursday that he was not particularly happy about the compromise. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil, on the other hand, criticized the coalition partners' attempts to distance themselves from the agreement.

"We are not living in normal times. Wars are against any kind of normality," Mützenich told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND/Thursday). He classified the risk of another lawsuit before the Federal Constitutional Court as justifiable. Speaking on Deutschlandfunk radio, Mützenich made it clear that he doubted there would be much relief at the agreement. "Because those who were involved in it also questioned it again relatively quickly. Now it has to be put right in parliament."

In the dispute over the 2024 federal budget, the leaders of the traffic light coalition have decided that the debt brake will not be generally suspended in the coming year. However, an exception for flood aid in the Ahr valley is currently being examined. However, the debt brake is not to be suspended for the time being due to the war in Ukraine. The coalition only reserves the right to take such a step in the event of a significant change in the situation.

What does the Basic Law say?

The Basic Law stipulates that the debt brake can be suspended in the event of natural disasters or other extraordinary emergencies if the state's financial situation is significantly impaired. The FDP in particular, with Finance Minister Christian Lindner, has so far been very cautious on the subject. The debt brake was recently suspended once again for the current year - for the fourth time in a row.

SPD parliamentary group leader Mützenich pointed out several uncertainties with regard to the war in Ukraine in the RND. How Russia would continue its war, which countries would continue to support Ukraine and whether the USA would still be involved - all of this was beyond the influence of national action. Germany has much more to do than just supply more weapons. Mützenich mentioned, for example, help with reconstruction and economic issues.

"Because we are not allowed to make further savings in the core budget, we will have to finance these additional funds through the derogation under Article 115 of the Basic Law - in other words, by suspending the debt brake." Justifying this decision with the Ukraine aid seems constitutional to him.

What concerns does Mützenich have?

"We run the great risk of social division if aid for Ukraine is provided at the expense of important expenditure that is also important for people at home," said Mützenich. The currently planned approach would lead to "domestic distribution conflicts in which one is played off against the other", the SPD politician pointed out.

Mützenich is not the first Ampel politician to criticize parts of the budget compromise. He himself reminded Deutschlandfunk radio that just a few hours after the agreement between Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), a correction was made and the plan for a kerosene tax on domestic flights was replaced by an increase in ticket tax.

The coalition has also moved away from the agreement on other points: in the face of fierce protests from farmers, the Greens' Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir opposed the agreed end to tax concessions for agricultural vehicles and the FDP's parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr. Associations and opposition politicians complained about cuts, particularly in the social sector.

What is the climate money all about?

SPD leader Klingbeil rebuked Özdemir in particular in the Berlin newspaper "Tagesspiegel" (Thursday) - without mentioning him by name. "It does not contribute to a better political situation when ministers question the budget compromise five minutes after it has been reached. I have learned politics by defending agreements once they have been reached and campaigning for them together," said Klingbeil.

At the same time, he called on Finance Minister Lindner to think hard about how the climate money agreed in the coalition agreement can be introduced to relieve citizens of rising climate protection costs. "The mechanism for paying it out is incredibly complex, I know that. But I still expect the Ministry of Finance to work intensively on its implementation," he said. He reiterated a proposal he had recently made: "As long as this is not possible, we need to look at alternative ways of reducing the burden, such as increasing the commuter allowance."

The consumer associations called for a climate allowance of 139 euros for every citizen. Consumers have already been paying a surcharge on gas, oil and fuel since 2021 due to the CO2 price without being sufficiently relieved in return, argued Thomas Engelke from the Federation of German Consumer Organizations on ARD. The CO2 price will continue to rise in the coming year. "We demand that the government does everything in its power to ensure that a climate money is introduced as quickly as possible."

According to the consumer advice centers, however, this will not work. The government's total revenue from the CO2 price is significantly higher than the direct relief.

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