The Union rejects the citizen’s income, so according to the current status in the Bundesrat, it is likely to fail for the time being. Finance Minister Lindner is already beginning to sound out possible compromise formulas for the mediation committee. But CDU boss Merz initially signaled little mobility.
The FDP chairman Christian Lindner has shown himself open to possible changes to the citizen’s income in a mediation process. The Federal Minister of Finance said this to the editorial network Germany. You can negotiate anything. “If we can still improve the additional income, that would be very good.” Taking up work is a step towards permanent independence from social benefits. “That must be rewarded and not punished.”
On the question of spare assets, however, Lindner said it would be “inhumane” if a person who had worked all his life and was no longer able to work at the end of 50 due to a stroke of fate had to use up all his savings immediately. “We give him two years to overcome the life crisis and qualify. Society should have this generosity,” said the FDP leader. Lindner also restricted possible changes: “What is still possible with regard to the question of the obligation to cooperate in changes will not have any great significance in practice with thousands of individual cases per day.”
FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr warned in the “Spiegel” the Union against a blockade course with the citizen money. He expects the Union “to no longer play with fire” and not to jeopardize the introduction of citizen income on January 1, according to Dürr. Only increasing the standard rates without improving the work incentives – as CDU leader Friedrich Merz wants – is the opposite of performance justice. At the same time, he accused the Union of false reports: “CDU and CSU should stop spreading fake news about citizen income with confused statements,” said Dürr.
The debate about the successor to the Hartz IV system revealed one of the greatest injustices in the welfare state. “Anyone who wants to do something to escape unemployment has so far been punished by the state. This is exactly where we as the FDP come in: We are not interested in where someone comes from – we are interested in where they want to go.” Dürr defended the traffic light project as “the big difference” between his party and the ideas of the Union.
CDU leader Merz told the “Welt am Sonntag”: “With this law, the federal government is carrying out a complete system change in labor market policy. Compromises are difficult there.” This “so-called citizen money” is the way to an unconditional basic income from tax funds. In addition, the law comes at the wrong time. “Craftsmen, restaurateurs, small and large companies – they are all desperately looking for workers. And now, of all times, when it is more important than ever to get people into work, such a law is being passed.”
The Federal Council is scheduled to vote on the social reform on Monday, which is to be implemented as early as January 1st. The Union could block the government’s central project there. She vehemently rejects the project, partly because she believes it reduces motivation to accept work. The traffic light parties reject this. The Bundestag had approved the citizen money on Thursday.
In the event of rejection in the Bundesrat, a compromise would have to be found in the joint mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat. The traffic light plans for citizen income include an increase in the current standard rate of 449 euros for single people to 502 euros. In addition, the unemployed are to be put under less pressure in the future by threatened withdrawal of benefits (sanctions) and instead be given more support with further training measures. In addition, the requirements for the permitted amount of assets and the size of the apartment for benefit recipients are to be relaxed.
