After the poor performance in the Berlin elections, the FDP is apparently serious about the announced profile sharpening: In the dispute over the current and future budget, it is clear that the Liberals do not want to move a millimeter from the debt brake.
The FDP does not want to give way in the dispute over budgetary policy in the traffic light coalition and is calling on the Greens to give in. Leading Liberal politicians once again ruled out tax increases - and at the same time called for strict compliance with the debt brake anchored in the Basic Law, which only allows the federal government to take out new loans to a limited extent.
"In the current tense situation, talking about tax increases would be poison for Germany as a business location," said FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai of the "Rheinische Post". "As part of the constitutionally anchored debt brake, we have to prioritize spending in order to be able to meet the increased requirements, for example in the defense or education sectors."
FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr called the cornerstones for the budget agreed in March "a reasonable basis for our national budget" and told the newspapers of the Funke media group that he was "surprised that the Greens are now questioning them, almost a year after the agreement". .
Negotiations are currently underway about updating the key figures and the 2024 budget, which provides for an upper limit of around 424 billion euros. In the course of drawing up the budget, Economics Minister Robert Habeck of the Greens and Finance Minister Christian Lindner clashed violently. The core question is whether and how more income can be generated and which projects should have priority.
The departments have additional requests worth billions. "In the coalition agreement, the traffic light agreed on joint projects that we want to implement in this legislature. For us, the coalition agreement will continue to form the basis for further budget preparation," said SPD head householder Dennis Rohde of the "Rheinische Post". "At the same time, of course, we have to ensure that the budget planning takes into account the funds that are necessary to finance the current challenges," he said. In view of additional budgetary burdens, for example due to a considerable increase in interest expenditure, the 2024 budget will be “a major challenge”. Nevertheless, he is certain "that the federal government will lay a good foundation for further budget deliberations with the decision on benchmark values in March".
