2024-07-07 05:56:35
The traffic light coalition is pulling itself together, the budget is in place. And yet new trouble is already looming. How FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr assesses the compromise.
Christian Dürr is in a good mood when he receives an interview on Friday afternoon. And unlike his party leader Christian Lindner, he also seems to have had a good night’s sleep. No wonder: Unlike the finance minister, the chairman of the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag did not have to negotiate the traffic light coalition’s budget deal until the early hours of the morning – and can look forward to it the day after:
The government wants to comply with the debt brake, and there is also to be a comprehensive package for more economic growth. Have the Liberals achieved everything? At first glance, yes. But at second glance, new disputes are already looming, because for SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich, the discussion about a financial emergency is far from off the table.
What else will parliament change in the budget? Will the exemption from the debt brake still be granted? And what does Dürr think of one or two of the tricks the government used in the budget?
t-online: Mr. Dürr, the budget is in place. Will the traffic light vote hold until the end?
Christian Duerr: When you join a government, the goal is to govern for four years. These have been some tough weeks. But at the same time, it was clear to me from the start: we want to govern until the next federal election – and not argue.
Her colleague Rolf Mützenich sounded different yesterday when he complained about the “triumphal howls of the FDP” and against Finance Minister Christian Lindner. Is the next argument looming?
No, not at all. I didn’t understand Mr Mützenich that way either. When he held his press conference, not a single FDP politician had yet made a public statement. So there could be no “triumphant cries”. And there isn’t any now either: It’s not about whether a party gets anything, but about doing the right thing for the country. And we are doing that by firstly complying with the debt brake and secondly initiating an economic turnaround.
Nevertheless, why can’t this coalition go five minutes without drama?
I didn’t see it as a drama. In my opinion, all three partners can get behind the points of “solid finances” and “strengthening the economy”.
These are just points that are important to you.
Of course, these are primarily the trademarks of the FDP. But I give all the more credit to our coalition partners for going down this path with us – away from the financial behavior of the grand coalition, which has flooded everything with money, and towards solid state finances. I am grateful to the SPD and the Greens for this. As we saw with the “Groko”, this cannot be taken for granted.
How much do you expect the government’s draft budget to change in Parliament?
There will definitely be changes here and there. We will also receive a tax estimate in the autumn, and then we will know the financial framework even better. But the most important thing is that we have now agreed on the political framework – and that means: we will comply with the debt brake.
Do you rule out the possibility that the traffic light coalition will declare a state of emergency this year in order to suspend the debt brake?
Yes, I rule that out. We will not allow the debt brake to be scrapped in the parliamentary process. We will not participate in a so-called reform, as many in the CDU and CSU would like, nor will there be an emergency resolution. In fact, the latter is not as easy as some in the SPD assume: the emergency is usually declared by the government, which has declared that it does not want to do that. We will not allow an emergency resolution from parliament if the government does not even propose it.