The opposition is calling for course corrections in the first coalition committee after the summer break

The opposition in the Bundestag has called on the coalition of the Union and the SPD to use the first coalition committee after the summer break to correct course. The AfD's strengthening in the recent state elections must finally be a "wake-up call" for the coalition, Green parliamentary group leader Britta Haßelmann told the AFP news agency. »Stop being self-employed and dragging yourself from crisis to crisis.«

Haßelmann warned that the coalition must "finally find the strength to tackle the central questions of the future instead of always just agreeing on the lowest common denominator." Decisions are now needed that will noticeably improve people's lives.

The leaders of the Union and SPD are expected to meet on Wednesday for their first coalition committee after the summer break. Despite repeated assurances that they wanted to clarify substantive differences internally, coalition members recently aired their dispute publicly on key projects such as pension and nursing care reform.

AfD and Left skeptical about new reforms

Left parliamentary group leader Sören Pellmann said the government must "stop the attacks on the welfare state, invest boldly in the economy and take resolute action against rip-offs in almost all areas of daily life - from the gas station to the supermarket to rent," Pellmann told the AFP news agency.

The social policy spokesman for the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, René Springer, said he "doesn't expect anything good for the employees from this coalition committee." He called on the coalition to forego the abolition of early retirement without deductions after 45 years of contributions.

Pension package will be the next topic of conflict until the end of the year

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier joined the debate at the weekend and encouraged the federal government to continue its reform course. Germany is currently experiencing a “really profound crisis,” said Steinmeier in his speech at the German Unity Day ceremony in Bremen. "We cannot achieve new growth if everything stays as it is." The key is the political will to leave established routines, said the Federal President.

Federal Economics Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) called on her cabinet colleague, Federal Labor Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD), to quickly present the draft pension reform bill. “The Federal Chancellor is absolutely right that this package must be approved by the end of the year,” Reiche told Bild am Sonntag.

Before the parliamentary summer break, Merz and Bas jointly announced that they wanted to implement the Commission's reform plan without making any compromises. However, it is now unclear which parts of the reform will still be implemented and in particular what will happen to the actually planned abolition of the pension without deductions after 45 years of contributions.