Keine Zäsur: FDP will mit der Ampel eine Wirtschaftswende einleiten
Published: Sunday, Apr 28th 2024, 13:30
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Promoting growth, tax cuts and no new social benefits: FDP leader Christian Lindner's call for an "economic turnaround" for Germany has received the full support of the Liberals' federal party conference. The Federal Finance Minister called on the SPD and Greens at the weekend to make an economic upturn a priority for the joint coalition. Lindner warned of a decline in the country with negative consequences for prosperity and social cohesion.
On Saturday, the more than 600 delegates adopted a key motion from the Federal Executive Committee on economic policy demands. The underlying twelve-point paper on economic stimulation through tax relief and stricter social benefits had caused annoyance, particularly among the SPD. "If a country falls from 6th place in competitiveness to 22nd place in ten years, what is more urgent than a turnaround?" said Lindner. "Because in the next few years, our ambition must be to return from 22nd to the top of the world." The delegates celebrated Lindner's speech with applause for three and a half minutes.
On Sunday, his Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai followed up. He warned that Germany must not fall further and further behind the competition. "The next few years must not be years of crisis. Instead, they must once again be years of upturn and prosperity."
No break with the coalition partners: Lindner goes easy on the traffic light
Lindner's speech had been eagerly awaited following the anger within the coalition over the twelve-point paper. However, the FDP leader made it clear at several points in his speech, which lasted more than an hour, that he wanted the coalition to be a success, not a premature end. He repeatedly attacked the CDU/CSU. His party won 11.5 percent of the vote in the last general election and is now only hovering around 5 percent in the polls. This would not even guarantee a return to the Bundestag.
FDP will Aufschwung zur zentralen Aufgabe machen
Lindner described Germany as an economic relegate. A few years ago, the medium-term growth outlook was still at 1.5 percent and has now fallen to 0.5 percent of gross domestic product. In the USA, it is 2 percent annually. On the fringes of the party conference, he set the goal of raising this figure in Germany to 1 percent again. The success of all three parties and their plans depended on the economy.
"We actually have the brains. We have the know-how. We have the capital. But our country too often gets in its own way," criticized Lindner in his party conference speech. "We have to clear the way for ourselves, because we have no time to lose."
In Lindner's view, economic decline is also a risk for democracy. People who feel that they are threatened with decline or that others are getting ahead more easily than they are would critically question the democratic framework. "The economic turnaround is the best democracy promotion law you can have."
Criticism of the traffic light partners remains muted overall
FDP Vice Wolfgang Kubicki called on the SPD and Greens to discuss the FDP concept. "I can only make an urgent appeal from here: Enter into talks with us. Because if there are no talks, there will be no future for this coalition." However, terminating the coalition, which is unpopular with many in the FDP base, was not an issue at the party conference. "Get out of the traffic light" was only heard from one delegate - he did not receive any applause for this. The FDP's criticism of individual Ampel projects, such as the concept of basic child protection from Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens), did not go beyond the usual level.
Strack-Zimmermann takes von der Leyen to task
While the FDP clearly did not want to put any further strain on the coalition climate, it fired all the more conspicuously against the CDU/CSU. One reason is certainly the ongoing European election campaign, another is that the FDP leadership assumes that it has lost voter potential, especially to the CDU/CSU, which it needs to win back.
The FDP chairman blamed EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) for the excessive administrative burden on companies. "Bureaucratic stress in our country has a first name: And that is Ursula." Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann added: "I can't reduce bureaucracy in federal law as quickly as Ursula von der Leyen produces it afterwards."
Top European candidate Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann also took von der Leyen to task. "In the IHK business barometer for the European elections, only five percent of German industrial companies said that the EU had become more attractive as a business location in the past five years," she said. "How can you simply want to stand for re-election as Commission President after such a vote of no confidence in our economy?"
©Keystone/SDA
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