Status: 07/24/2021 4:47 p.m.
“Air number”, “dubious” – there is sharp criticism of the CSU election manifesto from the SPD and FDP. This proposes tax cuts in the billions. SPD leader Esken sees a deep split between the CDU and the CSU.
The SPD chairman Saskia Esken has sharply criticized the CSU’s own election program. “The massive tax cuts for the rich and companies already planned in the CDU program are inflated by the CSU paper even further, without even hinting at serious financing of state tasks or even the upcoming investments in the future,” Esken told the “Augsburger Allgemeine”.
She accused CDU boss Armin Laschet and CSU boss Markus Söder of major contradictions in their statements about the possibility of tax relief. “The split between the CDU and CSU is noticeably deepening,” said Esken. “The dissatisfaction of the CSU with the joint top candidate and with the joint program was palpable from day one and is obviously growing.”
“Laschets gaps in content”
“Like Friedrich Merz before him, Markus Söder tries to fill the gaps in Laschet’s content with his counter-draft to the CDU program and outdoes himself in dubious populism,” criticized Esken. “The similarities in the so-called Union of CDU and CSU now seem to have finally been used up,” she added. Söder drove Laschet “with his financial political air numbers” in front of him.
The parliamentary manager of the SPD parliamentary group, Carsten Schneider, made a similar statement. He described the CSU election program as a “dubious air number”. It provides billions in tax cuts for the rich and companies, but at the same time the black zero should be without additional income, so the federal government should not incur any new debts. “Adam Riese would turn around in his grave,” Schneider told the dpa news agency.
CSU boss Markus Söder wants to fill the “gaps” of the Union chancellor candidate Laschet with populism. “Markus Söder still considers himself the better candidate for chancellor,” said Schneider. The CSU is also hypocritical when it comes to climate protection. So Söder wants the earlier coal exit, but not Bavaria, but the other countries should master it. “Laschet already wants to sell the citizens for stupid, Söder apparently thinks they are even stupid,” said Schneider.
Theurer: “Not serious”
But criticism also came from the FDP: The deputy chairman of the FDP parliamentary group, Michael Theurer, considers the CSU’s proposals to be dubious. “The CSU election program is in stark contrast to the election promises broken by the CSU and CDU umpteen times in this legislative period and the zigzag course of their joint chancellor candidate a few days ago,” said Theurer of the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. “The CSU simply promises more to everyone, that is not serious,” said Theurer.
The CSU presented its program for the federal election in September on Friday. Among other things, it calls for a permanent reduction in VAT in restaurants, a reduced tax rate for regional groceries, an expansion of the maternal pension, longer parental benefit payments and tax relief for companies. The CDU did not want to endorse many of these points in the joint program.
Overall, the proposed tax cuts amount to billions. According to the CSU, its own proposals should complement the joint election program with the CDU.