BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – The federal government should actually agree on a basic child security this month – but before that, further heated debates are emerging. Finance Minister Christian Lindner reported on Sunday that there was a need for advice, not only on the financial but also on the content of the measures to combat child poverty. Family Minister Lisa Paus, on the other hand, feels encouraged by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in her concept. He expects a quick agreement.
“I would like to thank the Chancellor for once again emphasizing his support for basic child security yesterday,” said Green Party politician Paus on Saturday in Berlin. “We’re on the home stretch and I’m optimistic about further talks with the Federal Minister of Finance.”
Scholz called on his coalition on Sunday not to publicly express differences of opinion. He was not happy that “this has now been discussed publicly again,” said the chancellor at the federal government’s open day. But that will not change the fact that the coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP will continue to push their projects. “And maybe one or the other will then get used to speaking only after the understanding has been reached.”
With the basic child security, Paus wants to combine benefits for families and increase them at the same time. The FDP is critical of performance improvements. Before the summer break, Scholz had asked Paus to submit a unified draft law by the end of August. The SPD politician said on Friday that he saw work on the project as going well.
Paus had previously caused an uproar in the cabinet: she blocked the so-called Growth Opportunities Act with tax breaks, which are intended to relieve the economy by around six billion euros a year. The traffic light must have an eye on both, investments in children and in the economy, Paus said at the weekend. “In my opinion, we should send this signal together to the people in the country.”
However, Lindner reported doubts about Paus’ concept. Families who have immigrated to Germany since 2015 are particularly affected by child poverty, said the FDP politician on Sunday at the open day in his ministry. He would like to discuss how these children and young people can best be helped.
“Is the best way to help them by transferring more money to their parents’ accounts?” asked Lindner. “Or isn’t it at least worthy of discussion to invest in language support, integration, the employability of parents and to equip the day-care centers and schools for the children in such a way that they can perhaps catch up on what the parents can’t do?” It is precisely this debate that the traffic light government will lead.
Green leader Ricarda Lang called on the traffic light coalition to de-escalate. “I would advise us all to be a little more relaxed,” she told the German Press Agency. It was agreed that they wanted to come out of the summer more calmly. Long assured: “The Growth Opportunities Act and the basic child security will come.” She is certain that the government will launch both this month. Both projects should come up at the cabinet meeting at the end of the month in Meseberg.
“We agree that we shouldn’t play off prosperity and justice, economy and social issues, against each other,” Lang said. “Even a functioning welfare state needs a strong economy.” Child poverty is also an economic problem. Lindner emphasized that a stable economy is the prerequisite for being able to think about basic child security, which he also believes is important.
Previously, the Greens politician Jürgen Trittin had fueled the mood. “Lisa Paus’ actions can be more than understood in view of the experiences in the coalition,” said the former Greens parliamentary group leader of the German Press Agency. “Unlike with the Red-Green Party, you can’t rely on agreements with the SPD and the FDP. It’s only logical that the agreed basic child protection is properly financed before you agree to tax cuts from Mr. Lindner.”
Paus “broke through the mechanism whereby the Greens repeatedly paid for a political agreement with the FDP because they paid in advance,” said the former Federal Environment Minister. At the same time, he doubted the effectiveness of the relief proposed by Lindner.
Above all, the costs and scope of basic child security are disputed. Only two billion euros are currently earmarked for the starting year 2025 – according to Finance Minister Lindner as a “placeholder”. Paus initially asked for twelve billion, later up to seven billion euros per year. According to a report by “Zeit online”, the draft law should initially be worth 3.5 billion euros in 2025.
The renewed Zoff also burdens the approval ratings for the federal government. According to a survey by the opinion research institute Insa for the “Bild am Sonntag”, almost two-thirds of Germans now want a new government. Above all, satisfaction with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his SPD is falling. 70 percent of those questioned are now dissatisfied with the chancellor’s work – ten percentage points more than four weeks ago.
In another YouGov poll, the majority of the leaders of the Bundestag parties denied their suitability for the chancellor’s office. Only 29 percent called Scholz suitable, 58 percent unsuitable. Almost all other top politicians surveyed did even worse – with the exception of CSU boss Markus Söder: 36 percent called him suitable, 48 percent unsuitable./tam/DP/nas