2024-05-05 10:01:15
Finance Minister Germany lead discussions to reach agreement on tax rules in the EU”>Christian Lindner (FDP) is preparing the country for tough cuts. A journalist attests that the Chancellor has lost touch with reality.
According to Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), Germany needs to tighten its belt. The Federal Republic is only in 22nd place worldwide in terms of competitiveness, he said on Thursday evening on “Maybrit Illner”.
“With 22nd place in competitiveness, you will not be able to finance top social benefits, top ecological standards and top living standards as a society,” warned Lindner. “That’s why something has to happen.”
- Christian Lindner (FDP), Federal Minister of Finance
- Ricarda Lang, Green Party leader
- Carsten Linnemann, CDU General Secretary
- Yasmin Fahimi, DGB chairwoman
- Gabor Steingart, Journalist “The Pioneer”
Illner’s question “Are the Germans too lazy?” CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann answered: “The core problem in Germany is that effortless prosperity is an illusion.” He, of all people, and not Lindner, was reminiscent of the former FDP party leader Guido Westerwelle.
“Illner”: Dispute over citizens’ money
Westerwelle sparked controversy in 2010 with his criticism of Hartz IV recipients. “Anyone who promises the people effortless prosperity is inviting late Roman decadence,” he warned in a guest article in “Welt”. A few months ago, top manager Wolfgang Reitzle also took up the term again in “Welt”.
The then SPD parliamentary group leader Frank-Walter Steinmeier then accused Westerwelle of “incredible cynicism”. When it came to “Illner,” the co-chair of the Green Party, Ricarda Lang, rejected Linnemann’s choice of words. These or even terms like “Amusement Park Germany” would sound like mockery for the many people who work incredibly hard in care and don’t even make it to retirement. “Populist talk” doesn’t help.
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“You don’t have to describe every proposal as populist,” Lindner countered. He supported the CDU Secretary General’s proposal to make overtime tax-free for employees. Something like this has already worked in Austria. The idea: Work should be worthwhile again for hard-working people. The union leader in the group had a question.
“Illner”: DGB boss against CDU strategist
“What is overtime for you?” Yasmin Fahimi, chairwoman of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), wanted to know from Linnemann. His answer: anything from 40 hours. Conversely, this means that people working part-time – primarily women – would not benefit from well-paid overtime.
“That’s the first mistake,” commented Fahimi and laughed mockingly when Linnemann warned about “doubters and slow-downers”. Your accusation: Linnemann suggests that the weak economic situation is due to the laziness of the employees. “The way it is now, Ms. Fahimi, it can’t go any further,” objected the Christian Democrat.
Lang and Fahimi, on the other hand, agreed: If overtime in full-time jobs were given tax advantages, men would work even more and their part-time partners would work even less. The DGB boss also accused the politicians of encroaching on the core territory of the collective bargaining partners with the discussion about the length of working hours.