The traffic light fights particularly intensely over money. This is also evident in the 2025 budget. Finance Minister Lindner expects savings proposals – a report gives concrete figures. Economics Minister Habeck warns of social cuts.
There was a lot of dispute in the traffic light coalition on the way to the current year’s budget. Given the tense financial situation, this is likely to be repeated in the budget discussions for 2025 – that’s what Finance Minister Christian Lindner expects.
He assumes that government leaders will again be asked when it comes to concrete savings for individual ministries. “But I am under no illusion,” said the FDP leader. In December, after the Federal Constitutional Court’s surprising budget ruling, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Lindner sought in three rounds of ways to compensate for a billion-dollar gap in the budget. Their austerity proposals then triggered farmers’ protests in many cities.
There is currently a gap in the financial planning for the coming year in the double-digit billion range. “There is no additional income to be distributed, but now it is about consolidation,” said Lindner.
Habeck against dismantling the welfare state
In order to cover additional defense spending, he recently spoke out in favor of a moratorium on new social spending. An idea that Economics Minister Habeck rejects. “I think the idea that we are dismantling the welfare state because we need more money for the military would be fatal,” Habeck told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
We are not just in a phase of external threat. Democracy is also under pressure, many people are turning away, and the glue of society is becoming porous. That’s why social spending is necessary to hold the country together.
One could talk about individual points, such as incentives for longer working hours in old age.
Media report on austerity targets for ministries
As “Spiegel” reports, the Foreign Office, the Interior Ministry, the Family Ministry and the Transport Ministry will have smaller budgets. Accordingly, Annalena Baerbock’s ministry should be able to spend around 5.1 billion euros in 2025. That would be 1.6 billion euros less than in the current year.
According to “Spiegel”, Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) would have a good five billion euros less in his budget, i.e. around 39 billion euros. The Federal Ministry of the Interior would have to expect a reduction in spending of 1.2 billion euros compared to the current year. The Family Ministry can therefore still plan for 13 billion euros for 2025 – that would be around 900 million euros less than in 2024.
Schulze also has to expect cuts
Planned savings for Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) had already become known. According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, your company should have around 9.8 billion euros at its disposal. Schulze’s budget had already fallen to 11.2 billion euros this year. Schulze recently warned of cuts. The pain threshold was “clearly reached,” she said.
At the beginning of July – shortly before the parliamentary summer break – the cabinet wants to approve a draft budget.