household debate - The SPD leadership rejects privatizations
Berlin's SPD leadership has ruled out privatizations as a means of balancing the state budget. While there should be no taboo topics when discussing budget cuts, Martin Hikel and Nicola Böcker-Giannini told the German Press Agency, there are "guidelines" that are particularly important to the SPD: "This is social security, for which we stand, it's about wanting a strong state and investments in infrastructure. And we don't want privatizations of state assets."
Regarding the "privatization issue," mistakes from the past should not be repeated, the two politicians emphasized. They reminded of how Berlin, after selling waterworks and the electricity grid, most recently bought back the heating network. "Such investments generate revenue," Hikel said. "And such infrastructure belongs in public hands."
The black-red coalition aims to save billions
The large-scale sale of apartments about 25 years ago had a significant disadvantage for Berlin's budget and revenue side, according to Hikel. "If I look at how much money Berlin sold apartments for in the nineties and is now buying them back: Speculative gains are being realized at the expense of the public."
The volume of the state budget has grown significantly since the Corona years to approximately 40 billion Euros per year. The black-red coalition now plans to reduce it gradually. After initial savings in the current year, there are plans for savings of three billion Euros in 2025 and five billion Euros in 2026. New revenue opportunities are also being sought. How this will all work out, CDU and SPD aim to clarify by autumn. The Left recently warned against privatizations.
From the perspective of both SPD chairs, this budget project is anything but trivial. "It's about looking now where we can shift things," Böcker-Giannini said. "I believe we need to identify where there are really structural savings opportunities, not just one-time effects." The mentioned guidelines, such as the social sector for the SPD, are "absolutely relevant."
- Nicola Böcker-Giannini, a prominent figure in Berlin's SPD, emphasized the importance of guidelines in budget discussions, specifically opposing privatizations of state assets.
- Martin Hikel, also from the SPD, criticized past privatizations, such as the sale of apartments in the 90s, which led to significant financial disadvantages for Berlin.
- The 'household debate' surrounding budget cuts in Berlin involves considerations about privatization, but for the SPD, this is a topic with specific guidelines, such as maintaining social security and investing in infrastructure.
- Regarding the 'Privatization' issue, Nicola Böcker-Giannini and Martin Hikel emphasized the need to learn from past mistakes and avoid selling off public assets, as seen with the waterworks, electricity grid, and heating network in Berlin.
- The SDP, in their coalition with the Party, aims to balance the state budget without privatizations, seeking savings in the current year and targeting reductions of 3 billion Euros in 2025 and 5 billion Euros in 2026 while exploring new revenue opportunities.
