federal government
Countries want to participate in the “Germany Pact”.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has proposed a “Germany Pact” to the federal states, municipalities and the opposition, with the exception of the AfD. photo
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
The chancellor wants to bring the country into shape with an effort. Several federal states – including those governed by the Union – are reacting benevolently. The Union is open, but critical in terms of content.
Yesterday in the Bundestag, Scholz proposed such a pact to the federal states, municipalities and the opposition, with the exception of the AfD. He named the acceleration of approval procedures, the digitization of administration and support for companies as key points. The immigration of skilled workers from abroad should be further promoted.
BDA President: “Announcements are not actions”
“The federal government is finally waking up with the announced Germany Pact,” commented Employer President Rainer Dulger in the “Rheinische Post” on Scholz’s announcement. Dulger criticized the traffic light government for sleeping through digitization for too long and clinging to bureaucratic hurdles for business and society. “Together with the federal states, she must now quickly launch the package of measures. Announcements are not actions,” warned the President of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA).
Union faction leader Friedrich Merz was also open-minded. “We, the opposition, are of course willing to take part in reasonable proposals,” said the CDU leader on “RTL Direkt”. “The chancellor is right, but first he has to find order in his own coalition,” added Merz. “Is he now looking for a majority outside of his own coalition,” asked the CDU politician.
Skepticism from the Union – despite openness
In terms of content, however, the group leadership is skeptical about Scholz’s initiative and points out that some of the points have been required by the state side for a long time. “Nothing new in the Chancellery” is the headline above a so-called flash briefing by the leadership and planning staff of parliamentary group leader Merz. It is available from the German Press Agency in Berlin.
“The proposal contains several projects to accelerate planning, promote growth, digitization and migration. None of the projects mentioned in the “Pact” is new,” says the analysis. “All of the proposals have already been communicated. Many of the projects mentioned have been delayed by the federal government for months.”
As a constructive opposition, the Union is always available for talks in order to make the right political decisions for Germany, the briefing goes on to say. A number of economic policy measures will be put to the vote in the next week of meetings. “We will also put measures in the area of migration policy to a vote that the Chancellor has already agreed with the Prime Minister but has still not implemented. We will see how serious the traffic light is about the offer of cooperation.”
Kretschmer: “We should be involved”
Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer emphasized with regard to the Scholz initiative: “We should be involved.” Out of civic responsibility, one should say yes to such talks and not set any preconditions, said the CDU politician in the ARD “Tagesthemen”. The prime ministers of the federal states also wanted to talk about the proposal at their conference in Brussels, which is still ongoing today.
Yesterday, Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) was also open to a “Germany Pact”, but declared that this would require an “effective and hands-on federal government”. Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) said: “Now it must not just be about big words, I expect that the Chancellor will follow his announcements with action. The federal states are ready.” At the same time, Günther was “surprised” by Scholz’s suggestion. The federal states have been pushing for such a pact for a year and a half, the federal government has wasted valuable time here.
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) had described Scholz’s proposal as a “PR stunt” and felt “kidded”. Wüst told the “Rheinische Post” that it was about projects that had already been planned and had been requested by the federal states for a long time. Scholz received approval from the Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer, like Scholz a member of the SPD, and from Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann from the Greens.