The traffic light parties continue to discuss the FDP’s economic plans. The SPD’s aim is to smooth out the waves, the liberals stick to their opinion. The coalition must now look for common ground.
Shortly before its party conference at the weekend, the FDP presented a plan that is primarily intended to strengthen and advance Germany economically. The Liberals have listed twelve points for this – some of which are causing considerable dissatisfaction among the coalition partners SPD and Greens.
For the Union, the new dispute is reason enough to warn again that the traffic light will fail. The CDU and CSU see themselves as prepared to immediately start an early election campaign if the FDP’s 12-point plan really proves to be a “divorce document” for the government coalition.
But Christian Lindner, party leader of the FDP, doesn’t want to know anything about it. “I’m not playing coalition games – I’m interested in providing impetus in a difficult economic situation in our country,” emphasized the Federal Finance Minister on ZDF. Leaving the traffic lights and instead seeking solidarity with the opposition is out of the question for him. After all, the CDU “shares responsibility for the situation in this country; this weak growth has not come to us in the last few weeks.”
Germany is recording the worst growth among the developed economies, emphasized Lindner. And his party’s goal is to lead the Federal Republic back to the “path of success” economically. “Everyone has to make their contribution, even in the coalition – I think that’s what people expect from us as a government,” said the FDP leader.
“Prosperity is not a natural law”
The General Secretary of the FDP also formulates the goals of his own party in a very similar way. “We have to make Germany fit for the future as a business location,” emphasized Bijan Djir-Sarai ARD morning magazine. Prosperity is not a natural law, “we have to work for it.”
A “strong economic foundation” is the basis “for everything else,” said Djir-Sarai. And by that he means “ecological transformation”, the financing of security policy – and also social spending. The FDP wants to limit this, for example with citizens’ money. And yet the Secretary General says that it is not about “cutting the welfare state.” Because it is “a great achievement”. It would be progress not to introduce any additional social spending in the next three years.
This is also in the FDP’s 12-point plan. Djir-Sarai in no way sees this as a provocation towards the two coalition partners. After all, it is “nothing unusual” for a party to “write a paper and present its ideas” in the run-up to a party conference.
A new search for the “intersections”
SPD party leader Lars Klingbeil also sees the FDP’s plan for an “economic turnaround” in connection with the party conference. “Every party has the right” to present its own positions, said Klingbeil in the daily topics. And in return, the SPD, as a coalition partner, would have the right to say what is wrong with it. Pension cuts, for example, weaken the welfare state. “This cannot be the answer to the challenges we face,” said Klingbeil.
The SPD leader doesn’t see the governing party as divided either – even if there was certainly too much argument. Now the “intersections” would have to be filtered out from the various positions. Klingbeil is convinced that there are similarities. And the traffic light partners would have to “pull themselves together” and “take on the task as a group of three”.
“These are questions of respect”
Kevin Kühnert, General Secretary of the SPD, is so diplomatic ARD morning magazine not. Of course, it is necessary to “contrast concepts” when faced with challenges and “from time to time” it is also necessary to “work out the differences”. From Kühnert’s point of view, a party paper before a party conference is also completely legitimate.
The problem for the Secretary General is the content of the FDP plan. “People work too little, retire too early and Germany takes up too many social benefits,” says Kühnert himself, interpreting the liberals’ point of view. It is also his job as Secretary General to “hit the table” and show: “That is not the situation.” The issue of pensions, the issue of social spending – these are also “issues of respect”. “We are very meticulous,” says Kühnert.
A “trustful Word” between Scholz and Lindner?
In order to bring calm again to the newly brewing dispute between the traffic light partners, Anton Hofreiter from the Greens also sees Olaf Scholz as having a duty. “In the end, I am of the opinion that in many points it depends much more on the Chancellor,” said Hofreiter on ntv. He expects “that the Chancellor will have a trusting word with Mr. Lindner and say: ‘Look, it doesn’t work like that’.”
Hofreiter also sees the FDP’s twelve-point plan as an attempt by the Liberals to save themselves from the current low in the polls. In the youngest ARD GermanyTrend The FDP only got four percent of the vote. If the Bundestag were to be re-elected now, the party would have to worry about returning.
“You have to be aware that if the polls show you at four percent or almost five percent, people will sometimes lash out more because they are worried about the existence of their party,” Hofreiter continued. The FDP itself must know whether such action makes political sense.