First statement
Three minutes of appeasement: Chancellor Olaf Scholz addresses the citizens after the budget debacle
Olaf Scholz tries to calm the concerns of citizens via video
© Bernd Elmenthaler / Imago Images
A week after the budget ruling from Karlsruhe, Chancellor Olaf Scholz commented on its consequences. He announced a government declaration and also set priorities for the rest of his term in office.
It took almost a week – now the Chancellor has Olaf Scholz had a statement spread on social media for the first time. In it he comments on the landmark judgment from Karlsruhe. Factually titled: “This is what I want to tell you today”. What follows is an almost three-minute video that can be roughly rewritten: We are working on it and as quickly as possible.
Citizens asked themselves legitimate questions, said Scholz. But the most important news is that the Constitutional Court has stated that help in special emergencies is still possible, said the SPD politician. Whether it’s support for inflation or after disasters like the Ahr Valley: “All such help is still possible.”
The Chancellor joined Finance Minister Lindner and stated that the government wanted to ask the Bundestag to suspend the debt brake again for 2023. The budget for 2024 will be revised after the ruling from Karlsruhe – “quickly, but with due care”. He also announced a government statement for next Tuesday.
Olaf Scholz outlines five goals for his term in office
In addition, Scholz talks about five clear goals that guide the federal government. He first mentioned the consequences of the Ukraine war, which should be mitigated for Germany, as well as support for Ukraine. The Chancellor also wants to “strengthen cohesion” and position the country “so that we continue to have a strong industry, good jobs and good wages in the future if we operate in a climate-neutral manner in the future.” Scholz named higher speed and better digitalization as his fifth goal – he also alludes to the Germany Pact he proposed.
The Federal Constitutional Court had declared the transfer of unused Corona loans to the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF) to be inadmissible. Other special funds such as the Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF), from which the energy price caps are paid, must now be placed on a different legal basis.
According to information from the Federal Ministry of Finance, the requirements from Karlsruhe mean that an additional 40 to 45 billion euros in debt will have to be written into the regular budget this year. That is why the supplementary budget for 2023 is necessary, for which the debt brake must be suspended for the fourth year in a row.
Sources: X, with material from the agencies