Plan for “economic turnaround”
No more retirement at 63: FDP annoys SPD with new demands
Christian Lindner and the FDP presidium are making demands that the SPD in particular will not like
© Roberto Pfeil / DPA
An FDP paper “to accelerate the economic turnaround” contains twelve points. There is resistance to some of the demands, particularly in the SPD.
This Monday, the FDP leadership wants to launch a concept for stricter rules for citizens’ benefits and the end of pensions at 63. The paper is already causing controversy in the traffic light coalition The SPD strictly rejects the proposals. General Secretary Kevin Kühnert attacked the coalition partner head-on in the “Tagesspiegel” (Monday): “The SPD will not allow our country to be run with the sensitivity of investment bankers. The basis of the traffic light coalition is and remains the coalition agreement.”
The FDP presidium wants to decide on the concept this Monday, and the federal Liberal party conference in Berlin is scheduled to decide on it next weekend. The two-page paper stipulates, among other things, that those who refuse to work can have their benefits reduced by 30 percent immediately in the future. So far this has only been possible in stages. The twelve points “to accelerate the economic turnaround” also include the abolition of pensions at the age of 63, tax advantages for working overtime and a reduction in bureaucracy at several levels, including in the construction sector.
FDP wants citizens’ money and pensions
In fact, the number of citizens’ benefit recipients whose benefits were reduced because they rejected job offers was manageable last year. According to the Federal Employment Agency (BA), there were a total of 15,774 cases from February to December 2023 – with a total of around 5.5 million citizens’ benefit recipients, of whom 3.9 million are considered employable. There is no differentiation according to reasons for January 2023. Overall, the job centers counted more than 226,000 cases of benefit cuts last year. Most (84.5 percent) occurred because those affected did not show up for appointments without giving an important reason.
When asked on Sunday, the Greens initially did not want to comment on the Liberals’ proposals – unlike the SPD, which vented its anger in a concentrated manner. Party leader Rolf Mützenich called the FDP’s demands “a remnant of the mothballs and not up to date.” SPD leader Lars Klingbeil said it was right that something had to be done to stimulate the economy and secure jobs. “But if the FDP believes that the economy is doing better when craftsmen, nurses or educators are doing worse, then they are very wrong,” he said “picture”.