Letter to Scholz: Union calls for immediate program for the economy

The Union faction is campaigning for an immediate program for the economy. In a letter to the ARD capital studio is available, chairmen Merz and Dobrindt are calling on the Chancellor to take twelve measures.

As is well known, the relationship between CDU leader Friedrich Merz and Chancellor Olaf Scholz is not the best. Conversations between the two are rare. Since there seems to be a lack of speech between the traffic light government and the opposition, people are increasingly resorting to the written word, at least in the opposition.

The Union faction sent a letter to the Federal Chancellor, which… ARD capital studio available exclusively. The chairmen of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Merz and Alexander Dobrindt, write that they are very concerned about the situation in the German economy and list twelve measures to make German companies more competitive.

Limit social security contributions to 40 percent

These include, among other things, reducing the electricity tax to the European minimum, limiting social security contributions to 40 percent of gross wages and allowing more flexible working hours. The Federal Minister of Finance and the Federal Minister of Economics are also being contacted and asked – as both had recently promised – to provide tax relief for companies: “If these announcements by the two ministers in your cabinet again have no consequences, this will lead to further uncertainty and frustration for many companies lead,” the letter says.

There has been a rough tone between Union and Ampel for weeks. The conflict came to a head again in the general debate on the federal budget last week. Merz said to Scholz: “Please spare yourself and us your calls for cooperation in the future.”

More appeal than that Offer to talk

The current letter to the Chancellor is more of an appeal to join the Union’s projects than an offer to talk. The CDU and CSU want to introduce the emergency program into the Bundestag in the next week’s session and are calling on Scholz to “join this package of emergency measures and create the necessary unity within your coalition.”

But the federal government is currently developing its own plans to provide greater relief for companies. Recently, the economics and finance ministers declared in unison that Germany was no longer competitive. Economics Minister Robert Habeck from the Greens had brought a special fund into play to finance tax credits and depreciation.

Finance Minister Christian Lindner from the FDP rejects this because it means new debt. He advocates abolishing the solidarity surcharge for companies – but there would also be a need to compensate for the lack of income for the federal government.