Dispute over the citizens’ income: Greens insist on the overall package

In the dispute over citizens’ income, the Union wants to support the increase in standard rates – but not the rest of the reform. A decoupling of the standard rate increase is not possible with the Greens. They fear that the CDU and CSU would then prevent the overall package.

In the dispute over citizen income, Green Party leader Katharina Dröge rejected the CDU proposal to separate the increase in standard rates from the rest of the reform plans. The citizen’s income is an overall package, said Dröge in the program “Frühstart” on the RTL / ntv broadcaster. “From our point of view, splitting up both elements would lead to the Union simply blocking the second part completely.”

The leader of the parliamentary group emphasized that it was “very clear” for the Greens that the increase in the standard rates had to come on January 1st, since people who were on basic security were particularly suffering from the high prices. Your party is ready to compromise, said Dröge. She could only appeal to the CDU/CSU: “The Union must not get caught up in a blocking attitude at this point.”

Mediation committee seeks compromise

Citizens’ income is to replace the current Hartz IV system at the turn of the year. Among other things, the reform provides for higher standard rates and more detailed support for the unemployed. The plans were approved by the Bundestag with the votes of the governing coalition, but initially failed in the Bundesrat due to resistance from the state governments with Union participation.

The Mediation Committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat will now try to find a compromise in a meeting on Wednesday evening. According to the will of the Federal Government, the Federal Council should then pass the law on Friday so that the new citizens’ income can come as planned at the beginning of the year. However, it remains to be seen whether the necessary agreement will be reached in the Mediation Committee.

Merz wants to submit an application

The CDU and CSU criticized in particular that the traffic light plans provide for a higher level of protection for recipients and that practically no sanctions can be imposed by the job centers in the first six months. The Union supports the increase in standard rates. Her proposal to separate the increase from the other citizen income plans has been in the air since the beginning of November.

CDU leader Friedrich Merz announced at the weekend that he would submit another application to the Bundestag to decouple the increase in the standard rate. “Because the people affected, especially families with children, are already suffering from high inflation today,” he wrote in his weekly newsletter. “You can’t wait any longer, so we’re going to put the rate hike back up for a vote.”

Linnemann insists on change

CDU General Secretary Mario Czaja also told the editorial network Germany (RND) that if no agreement was reached in the next few days, the Union would again propose excluding the increase in the standard rate and deciding on it in the coming week.

The CDU deputy leader Carsten Linnemann said that the federal government had to fundamentally revise its plans for citizen income. Otherwise there will be no compromise in the Bundesrat: “The citizen’s allowance is about a directional decision. If the direction of the traffic light coalition does not change, a compromise will not succeed,” Linnemann told the editorial network Germany. The principle of promoting and demanding must also be retained in the case of citizen income.

Admonition from child protectors

The President of the Child Protection Association, Heinz Hilgers, called on the Union and the governing parties to end their “games” and to decide on citizen income as planned by the traffic light. “A lack of agreement would primarily harm families and children.”

There should be no sanctions against families with children. “It should generally be forbidden for families with children to receive financial sanctions,” Hilgers told RND. “Most of the time, the sanctions don’t hit those who sit at the train station in the morning with a beer bottle. Children suffer the most from the sanctions.”

The parliamentary group leader of the left, Amira Mohamed Ali, said in the “Rheinische Post” that it was an indictment that the traffic light parties and the Union “could not even agree on these minimal improvements for those affected by Hartz IV”.