Coalition consultations on pension and care reform after election defeats

According to information from the ARD capital studio, representatives of the black-red coalition will meet in the evening to discuss their further reform course. The Spiegel and the Bild newspaper initially reported on the meeting.

SPD leader and Labor Minister Bärbel Bas, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), Chancellery Minister Nina Warken (CDU) and State Secretary Björn Böhning (SPD) are expected to take part. Böhning represents Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil (SPD). According to information from coalition circles, Health Minister Carsten Linnemann (CDU) will join later, Spiegel reported.

The meeting will focus in particular on the topics of pensions and care. After the poor election results, especially for the CDU, in the recent state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as well as the election in Berlin, the discussion about this was reignited.

Both the opposition parties in the Bundestag and the coalition partner SPD had called for a course correction. What changes are possible to the planned reforms should be discussed. No concrete decisions are expected today.

Pension reform in focus

The Social Democrats recently increased the pressure on the Union with a strategy paper that was available to the ARD capital studio. It says that “business as usual” can no longer exist.

The paper contains, among other things, ideas such as reforming the inheritance tax to finance an education offensive in the states and reforming the pension system. “We see that open questions about partial retirement and pensions without deductions after 45 years of contributions are causing enormous uncertainty among employees and employers,” it said. The SPD is calling for adjustments here.

It should also be about care and health. The care reform is to be discussed in the cabinet next week. However, there are still open points of contention within the coalition about the draft law.

On Monday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz himself sparked a debate on the topic of health. He indicated possible adjustments to the issue of health insurance. The “coexistence of private and statutory health insurance” is viewed by many people as a “justice problem,” said Merz after the meetings of the CDU party committees in Berlin. There was approval from the SPD for this. However, a spokesman for the Chancellor later backtracked.

Merz defends reform course

CDU leader Merz only defended his reform course again in the Union parliamentary group meeting in the afternoon. ARD capital city correspondent Kerstin Palzer reported that there was applause from the Union faction.

After the election debacle in Saxony-Anhalt two weeks ago in his own party, Merz came under massive pressure. Last Sunday, the CDU was thrown out of the state parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and was pushed out of first place in parliament in Berlin by the Left. The Union faction nevertheless assured Merz of continued support.