Federal Government
Savings: Mützenich warns of divisions in society
SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich warns of a division in society because of the savings. photo
© Melissa Erichsen/dpa
The traffic light’s laboriously reached agreement on an austerity package has met with a lot of criticism. It’s not just social associations that fear serious consequences for social cohesion.
“We don’t live in normal times. Wars violate all normality,” Mützenich told the editorial network Germany to the address of the traffic light government. He classified the risk of another lawsuit before 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 there – all of this is beyond the influence of nation-state actions, said the head of the SPD parliamentary group. Germany has much more to come than further arms deliveries. Mützenich mentioned help with reconstruction and economic issues.
Mützenich said: “Because we are not allowed to continue making savings in the core budget, we will have to finance these additional funds through the exception regulation under Article 115 of the Basic Law – i.e. by suspending the debt brake.” To him, justifying this decision with aid to Ukraine appears to be constitutional.
“We are in great danger of social division if aid to Ukraine is provided at the expense of important expenditure that is also important for people at home,” said Mützenich. The SPD politician pointed out that the currently planned approach would lead to “domestic distribution conflicts in which one is played off against the other.”
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 next year. An exception for flood relief in the Ahr Valley is currently being specifically examined. However, because of the war in Ukraine, the debt brake should not initially be suspended as demanded by Mützenich. The coalition reserves the right to take such a step only 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 exceptional emergencies if the state’s financial situation is significantly impaired. In particular, the FDP with Finance Minister Christian Lindner has so far been very reserved on the topic. The debt brake was recently suspended again for the current year – for the fourth time in a row.
There has been massive criticism of the traffic light’s planned billion-dollar savings package in recent days. Associations and opposition politicians complained about cuts, particularly in the social sector. Recently, thousands of farmers in Berlin took a stand against the cancellation of discounts on agricultural diesel and also the vehicle tax exemption for agricultural vehicles.