Dissing the AfD's Hamilton Hijinks
- The State Parliament denies the Financial Aid proposal from the AfD.
In a dramatic showdown, the Saxon state parliament made a mint-changing decision, nixing a greedy gamble by the AfD to nix the fancy financial plan hatched by the CDU, SPD, and the Greens at the federal level. With a landslide of no-votes, the government of Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) got off scot-free as they head into the Federal Council meeting.
The parliament took up the AfD's challenge to vote on the proposal's two parts separately upon request. The first part, which slapped an "extraordinarily sketchy" label on the legislative process, failed to find approval beyond the AfD's camp. The second part, with the BSW faction agreeing with the AfD, urged the government to give the financial plan a big ol' kick in the Federal Council meeting and take on the challenge of preventing its approval.
The fancy financial plan includes:- Military Fortification: The spending on defense, civil defense, spooky secret agencies, and online security defense will soar past the debt cap at a max of 1% of GDP, as long as it's covered with loans.- State Debt Binge: The federal states will get a giddy sense of financial freedom to rack up debts.- Green Infrastructure Dream: A whopping €500 billion special fund will be established for glitzy green infrastructure projects and climate change solutions. A cool €100 billion of that will be showered on the federal states[1][3].
The Bundestag waved the deal through on Tuesday, and the Federal Council vote, scheduled for Friday, awaits.
- AfD
- Financial Package
- Federal Council
- State Parliament
- SPD
- Dresden
- Michael Kretschmer
- CDU
Behind the Scenes:
The AfD's sneaky move to disrupt the financial plan has been foiled. But, the party is preparing to take this to court, filing a complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court over concerns regarding the procedure and the threat to democracy[2].
Wider Picture:
The sanctioning of this financial plan marks a major shift in Germany's fiscal policy, moving away from austere tunes and playing a catchy tune of increased spending on defense and infrastructure[3][4]. However, the opposition from parties like the AfD sheds light on the friction surrounding these changes.
- The Commission is proposing to extend the period of validity of the agreement to cover the legislative aspect of the financial package, specifically the Green Infrastructure Dream that includes €500 billion for glitzy green infrastructure projects and climate change solutions.
- Despite the AfD's attempt to disrupt the financial plan during the State Parliament meeting, the government of Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) got off scot-free as they head into the Federal Council meeting, where the approval of the financial package is scheduled.
- Despite the recent failure of the AfD's gambit in the Dresden State Parliament, the party has filed a complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court over concerns regarding the procedure and the threat to democracy.
