The CSU is clearly criticising Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his decisive word in the budget dispute – after initially demanding it.
Munich/Berlin – In the latest discussions about the 2025 federal budget, the opposition is taking a hard line against the traffic light government. Olaf Scholz (SPD) complied with the CSU’s demands and spoke out in the budget dispute – now they are accusing the Chancellor of a “complete loss of touch with reality”.
“Close your eyes and get through it”: CSU accuses Scholz of irresponsibility regarding the federal budget
“Olaf Scholz reports from vacation only to dismiss his finance minister (Christian Lindner, FDP) and claim that the draft budget is already fine,” CSU General Secretary Martin Huber told German Press Agency in Munich. “Anyone who comes to this conclusion in view of the total chaos in the federal government is acting absolutely irresponsibly.”
“Close your eyes and get on with it,” is the Chancellor’s motto, stressed Huber. The Federal Government is thus heading for the next breach of the Constitution, as it did with the last federal budget and the Bundestag electoral law that was recently overturned by the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. “Apparently, the Chancellor’s vacation is more important than a constitutional budget.”
“Where is Scholz?”: CSU demands decisive word – Söder criticizes traffic light coalition
The CSU itself had previously called on Scholz to immediately cancel his vacation and to speak out in the budget dispute. “Where is Scholz? The traffic light coalition is once again falling apart in public because it has once again failed on the budget – and the Chancellor is on vacation,” Huber told the German Press AgencyThis is unbearable and disrespectful to the citizens. “That is why it is clear: Scholz must cancel his vacation,” demanded the CSU General Secretary a few days ago.
Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder also spoke out: “The traffic light coalition cannot govern seriously, the chaos continues,” he told the Augsburg General“The federal budget is full of holes like Swiss cheese, with unanswered questions and bounced checks everywhere,” said Söder.
Budget dispute: Scholz speaks out and criticises Lindner
Scholz did not cancel his vacation, but he did speak out. “It made sense to have the federal government’s options for action examined by experts as to how Deutsche Bahn and the motorways could be financially strengthened in the budget,” he said in an interview with Time OnlineAfter reviewing the reports, Scholz and his circle of advisors came to the following conclusion: “The clear result of the legal report: This is possible,” the Chancellor continued.
The origin of the criticism within and outside the traffic light coalition is a renewed dispute over the 2025 budget. Lindner had made public that expert opinions see constitutional risks in some of the federal government’s plans – for example, the idea of using the remaining 4.9 billion euros from the KfW development bank for the gas price caps for other purposes in the budget. Accordingly, the budget would have to be renegotiated.
“It remains a mystery how the actually clear opinion of the legal opinion could temporarily be interpreted in a completely wrong way,” said Scholz. A clear swipe at Lindner. The Chancellor is essentially accusing his actual finance expert in the cabinet of having provided a completely wrong interpretation.
“The emphasis is on together”: Klingbeil calls for budget solution without public dispute
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil is counting on a mutually agreed solution. “My expectation is very clear: Olaf Scholz, Robert Habeck and Christian Lindner must evaluate this together. The emphasis is on together,” Klingbeil told the Editorial Network Germany (RND). “The fact that a public circus is taking place again for days can be avoided if we sit down together,” added Klingbeil.
He assumes that the five billion euro gap mentioned by the finance minister can be closed. It is not conceivable “that the government presents the Bundestag with a budget with gaps and then wishes the parliament a safe journey.” (dpa/hk)
#CSU #accuses #Scholz #complete #loss #reality #decisive #statement