Why the FDP’s 12-point plan is causing unrest

The FDP is offending its coalition partners with its 12-point plan for economic transition. A solution to the budget dispute also seems further away than ever. The Union is now putting pressure on the matter with an application.

Many Social Democrats react to this very emotionally. Secretary General Kevin Kühnert said in a Interview with the “Tagesspiegel”that Germany is not governed by investment bankers and that the FDP lacks tact. SPD party leader Lars Klingbeil also explains that politics is not made on the backs of those who work hard and keep the country running.

They know that the Chancellor is on their side, who made it clear just a few days ago at an SPD spring retreat in Norderney that there is no question of a pension without deductions at 63.

Opposing demands

The coalition agreement is referred to again and again – from all sides. It is questionable, however, which of the things that the self-proclaimed progress coalition agreed on at the beginning still count. Because both the FDP and the SPD have many demands that could not be more contradictory. The SPD and the Greens want to tackle the debt brake and reform it. For the FDP it is untouchable.

Social Democrats and the Greens are calling for special assets and more debt for future investments – the Liberals, on the other hand, only see savings in the welfare state as a solution. The negotiations over the budget are hanging over everything, where a solution and a compromise seem to be a long way off and are always referred to the very top: towards the Chancellery.

When the traffic lights argue, the Union is happy

This dispute and the FDP paper are now a target for the Union. CSU boss Markus Söder is already blaspheming, describing the 12-point plan as a “divorce certificate for the traffic lights”. Friedrich Merz also asks on ZDF whether the FDP paper is just a provocation to bring the coalition to the brink of failure at some point. Or whether this is a serious attempt to correct the economic policy of the entire federal government?

The Union sits back and relaxes and lets the three traffic light parties argue. Intra-party debates about reforming the debt brake in the Union are not initially noticed in the loud traffic light debate. There are more and more statements from the CDU prime ministers that they are at least open to looking at the debt brake. Some people are also not opposed to an initiative by Kai Wegner to push through a reform of the debt brake through the Federal Council via a state initiative. But no one wants to talk about it so loudly in public.

Union wants to exert pressure

The Union would much rather be drumming now. She wants to submit an application to the Bundestag on Friday, the draft of which ARD capital studio is exclusive, putting pressure on the traffic light coalition. In it, she calls on the federal government, for example, to relieve the burden on companies, to at least gradually abolish the solidarity surcharge or to provide more incentives for overtime.

The Union is also considering having a roll call vote on it – and thus driving the traffic light parties ahead of them. “If Finance Minister Lindner is serious about bringing about a real ‘economic turnaround’ and not just setting off fireworks before the party conference, the traffic light government should quickly implement relief for companies and consumers,” says Mathias Middelberg, CDU parliamentary group vice-president tagesschau.de.

Is the FDP now isolated?

The FDP is not deterred by such tones. She is now positioning herself before the upcoming FDP party conference this weekend – knowing that she could even fail at the five percent hurdle in the next federal election.

Her first priority is to find topics with which she can win back her voters, the FDP clientele. She seems to be looking more at the upcoming elections than at the coalition with which she is currently in government.