Federal Government - Savings: Mützenich warns of a split in society
SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich has called for the debt brake to be suspended for the coming year and warned of a split in society if it is not.
"We are not living in normal times. Wars violate any kind of normality," Mützenich told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland newspaper, addressing the traffic light government. He classified the risk of a further appeal to the Federal Constitutional Court as justifiable.
Mützenich's concerns
How Russia continues its war against Ukraine, which countries continue to support Ukraine and whether the USA is still involved - all of this is beyond the influence of national action, said the head of the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag. Germany has much more to do than just supply more weapons. Mützenich mentioned, for example, help with reconstruction and economic issues.
Mützenich said: "Because we cannot continue to make savings in the core budget, we will have to finance these additional funds through the derogation under Article 115 of the Basic Law - i.e. by suspending the debt brake." He believes that justifying this decision with the Ukraine aid is constitutional.
"We are running 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.
Criticism of the austerity package
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. Due to the war in Ukraine, however, the debt brake will not initially be suspended as demanded by Mützenich. The coalition only reserves the right to take such a step in the event of a significant change in the situation.
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.
In recent days, there has been massive criticism of the planned multi-billion euro savings package of the coalition government. Associations and opposition politicians have complained about cuts, particularly in the social sector. Most recently, thousands of farmers in Berlin protested against the fact that concessions for agricultural diesel and the exemption from vehicle tax for agricultural vehicles were to be abolished.
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- Rolf Mützenich, the SPD parliamentary group leader, advocated for suspending the debt brake temporarily, expressing concerns about societal divisions if it wasn't.
- Mützenich expressed these views to Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, highlighting the influence of external factors like Russia's war in Ukraine and the USA's involvement.
- He suggested that additional funds for Ukraine aid could be financed by suspending the debt brake under Article 115 of the Basic Law.
- Mützenich warned of potential domestic distribution conflicts if funds were diverted from domestic expenditures for Ukraine aid.
- The leaders of the traffic light coalition have decided against a general suspension of the debt brake for the coming year, but an exception for flood aid is under consideration.
- The FDP, with Finance Minister Christian Lindner, has been cautious about suspending the debt brake, having done so recently for the fourth time in a row due to extraordinary emergencies.
- Criticism has arisen over the coalition government's planned multi-billion euro savings package, with associations and opposition politicians expressing concern about cuts, particularly in the social sector.
- Mützenich and the SPD parliamentary group are part of the traffic light coalition government, which is currently dealing with finances, including debates about the debt brake and savings packages.
- The situation in Ukraine, with Russia's ongoing war, has also impacted discussions about the debt brake and potential assistance from Germany, as mentioned by Mützenich.
Source: www.stern.de
