The traffic light wants Germany to be “more crisis-proof and stronger”.
Source: Michael Kappeler/dpa/Archive
Nfter the heated arguments about climate policy, the traffic light coalition wants to focus on economic and social policy issues in the second half of the legislative period. “The coalition agreement still contains a wealth of projects that need to be implemented,” said SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mutzenich the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper”. As goals he named the strengthening of the collective agreement and the securing of the minimum pension level as well as the contribution stability.
“It is particularly important for the employees that we continue to strengthen the collective bargaining agreement,” said Mützenich. The coalition will also “ensure that the pension contribution rate does not exceed 20 percent and at the same time secure the minimum pension level at 48 percent.”
Also the Green leader Omid Nouripur wants to focus on economic issues. The coalition wants to “secure our prosperity, protect consumers and reduce dependencies over the next few years,” he told the newspaper. “We are strengthening our competitiveness and the German economy through clever location policy,” Nouripour continued. “In the short term, we propose a time-limited industrial electricity price.”
FDP faction leader Christian Durr said: “In the second half, we must continue to work on our country’s competitiveness and modernize our state.” An important building block in family policy for the FDP is a “digital children’s opportunity portal,” he said with a view to the current debate about basic child security. The state must “get better, but not more expensive”.
Mützenich also addressed the limited financial leeway. “Of course, the budget situation is more difficult today than when we started our government,” he said. “But thanks to clever financial and budgetary policies, we are in a position to get our projects off the ground.”
All three politicians stressed that the government had done more than publicly perceived. “If you draw a factual line under the first year and a half of the traffic light coalition, you can see that apart from the B grade, a very positive interim balance of our work can be drawn – despite the pandemic, the Ukraine war and inflation,” said capsich.
Nouripour said: “As a government, we have set the course to make Germany more crisis-proof and stronger.” Dürr found: “Our balance sheet is impressive.”
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