Traffic light dispute
Union sees disagreement over traffic lights as a problem for the economy
Updated 10/26/2024Reading time: 3 min.
A gap is once again opening up between the traffic light parties: the FDP, Greens and SPD sometimes have very different ideas when it comes to economic policy. The Union speaks of “chaos” – and warns.
Union parliamentary group vice-president Jens Spahn holds the leaders of the traffic light coalition partly responsible for the economic downturn in Germany because of their disagreement on economic policy. Due to the political unpredictability due to the sometimes opposing positions of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), Germany is getting deeper and deeper into crisis, the CDU politician told the “Augsburger Allgemeine”.
Scholz, Habeck and Lindner had recently made different economic policy initiatives in quick succession that were not coordinated with each other.
“The economics minister campaigns with paper, the chancellor with summits, the finance minister knows nothing,” criticized Spahn. “This chaos is largely responsible for the downturn, and Germany is being pushed into the second league of industrialized nations.”
The Chancellor announced an industrial policy offensive in the Bundestag last week. Next Tuesday he invited representatives of companies, unions and associations to an industrial summit in the Chancellery in the afternoon – but not Economics Minister Habeck and Finance Minister Lindner.
After Scholz’s announcement, Habeck proposed a debt-financed “Germany Fund” with which investments should be promoted. According to his ideas, companies should receive ten percent of all investments reimbursed by the state. Lindner rejects this and advocates tax relief instead.
The FDP parliamentary group finally invited business representatives to a discussion on Tuesday – in the morning, before the Chancellor’s industrial summit, with Lindner “as a guest”, as the parliamentary group said.
For this, the FDP parliamentary group received criticism from the traffic light partners. “The times are too serious for summit ping-pong. We have to do what is necessary together,” said Green Party deputy Andreas Audretsch to the “Bild” newspaper. He supported Habeck’s proposal for an investment fund. This is the best instrument.
SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich accused Lindner of undermining Chancellor Scholz’s work with the FDP economic meeting. “Some reactions to the Chancellor’s announcement of an industrial summit are simply silly. The Finance Minister should concentrate on his department and not try to torpedo the Chancellor’s work with his own event,” Mützenich told the “Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung”.
At the same time, the SPD parliamentary group leader also spoke out against Habeck’s idea of an investment fund. A special fund would require the approval of the opposition. “If the Vice Chancellor now wants to have a special fund for the economy, for the economic recovery, I would of course be interested to know whether he has already spoken to Mr. Merz about it.” In general, he “could easily have done without” Habeck’s impulse, said Mützenich.
In view of the various proposals from the coalition, CDU leader Friedrich Merz accused the Chancellor of not showing enough leadership. “The Chancellor is not the silent observer of the activities of his cabinet members,” wrote the Union Chancellor candidate in his email newsletter “MerzMail”.
The announced meetings next week are “exhibition events of the three coalition parties, which no longer have anything to say to each other, but which are fighting all the more violently against each other for the respective starting position for the next federal election,” wrote the Union faction leader.
His deputy Spahn sees the traffic light coalition as already at an end. “Germany no longer has a government,” the CDU politician told the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. “We need political stability quickly through new elections.”
In recent months, due to the many disputes in the coalition, there has been repeated speculation about its premature end. Scholz, Habeck and Lindner opposed this again in view of the recent dispute.