Budget battle intensifies
The intensifying budget wrangle is causing quite a stir!
The Budget Committee is presently in session. Amidst the turmoil, MPs are meticulously adjusting the budget for the coming year. Billions and millions are being tossed around. It's a sleepless night for these political heavyweights.
The scene in the Budget Committee is more tense than ever. The rationale: the CDU/CSU is doing everything possible to derail an orderly budget adoption. They firmly believe: Following the constitutional court ruling, which left a 60 billion-euro gap in the state finances, the traffic light coalition can't just endorse the federal budget as planned and postpone strict austerity decisions.
The budget architects are a clandestine group with their own rules. In the adjustment session, the government and opposition usually collaborate on certain areas. The opposition puts forward its own motions, thus partaking in the high-stakes money game. The opposition's requests are occasionally granted.
But now everything is altering!
The CDU/CSU returns to outright opposition. Union budget chief Christian Haase (57, CDU) informed his colleagues prior to the meeting that the CDU/CSU parliamentary group would not be submitting any motions of their own. Haase: "We can't participate in this questionable proceeding. Therefore, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group has decided not to submit any motions at the budget committee meeting today."
Haase later issued the command: No CDU/CSU-backed budget for any ministry will be approved. The CDU/CSU will only abstain on the budgets of constitutional bodies (Federal Constitutional Court, Bundestag, Federal President).
►SPD budget chief Dennis Rohde (37): "Yesterday, the CDU/CSU risked aid for Ukraine and funding for the fight against anti-Semitism with its games. Today, they are refusing to cooperate in the committee. This no longer has anything to do with the pro-government parliamentary group that the CDU/CSU used to be."
►Greens budget chief Sven-Christian Kindler (38): "The refusal to cooperate in the Budget Committee makes it clear that the CDU/CSU has lost touch with reality. The CDU/CSU is behaving irresponsibly in terms of state policy."
►And FDP budget chief Otto Fricke (57): "I am disappointed with the CDU/CSU: instead of making constructive proposals, they are refusing to work."
The CDU/CSU regards all funding decisions as futile until the coalition clarifies how it intends to address the 60 billion-euro hole in the climate fund. The coalition is reluctant to confront fiscal reality.
The predicament: if the budget isn't ratified now, it can no longer be passed by the Bundestag and Bundesrat before January. The consequence: ALL funds would be frozen, and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (44, FDP) would only be permitted to release civil servant salaries and current expenses (e.g., government building rent). The state would grind to a halt.
A budget delay is unacceptable for the Ampel. The CDU/CSU is already threatening another lawsuit. Just a week ago, the traffic light coalition and the CDU/CSU were discussing a joint Germany pact. Now they are at odds.
The Traffic light coalition, a union of the SPD, Greens, and FDP, is facing significant opposition from the CDU/CSU during the budget debate.
During the Budget Committee session, the CDU/CSU is refusing to submit any motions or support any ministry's budget, expressing their disparagement of the coalition's handling of the 60 billion-euro hole in the climate fund.
Dispute over the budget escalates, forcing Chancellor Olaf Scholz to navigate this contentious situation and find a solution. The well-being of the German state and the release of critical funds depend on his ability to broker peace between the opposing parties.
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