Political debates in Germany: tax plans, party crises and coalition questions

There is resistance from the federal states to planned higher taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sparkling wine. At the first discussion of the federal budget for the coming year and further financial planning in the Bundesrat, Hesse's Prime Minister Boris Rhein (CDU) said: "Anyone who plugs budget holes with tax money and tax increases is making it too easy for themselves." In particular, a tax increase on sparkling wine would hit Hesse particularly hard as a wine country. Rhein rejected a sugar tax as a “burden for medium-sized beverage manufacturers”.

Rhein stated: “I reject the tax increases that are planned.” He also called for the suspension of CO2 pricing for refueling and heating after the new refueling discount expires. A “sustainable solution” is needed. Otherwise the price crisis will become “a serious political crisis”.

Thuringia's Prime Minister Mario Voigt has sharply criticized his party after the CDU's election defeats. The Union has always claimed to govern sensibly and to bring different social groups together, he told the “Handelsblatt”. “Today we unfortunately have to say: we have failed because of our own demands.” He would also like to see this effort for cohesion at the federal level.

After criticism of Berlin left-wing politician Ferat Koçak's contacts with people from the clan milieu and the anti-Israel activist Ibrahim Ibrahim, Federal Managing Director Janis Ehling has announced clarification. In the WELT-TV interview, Ehling said that the party would “process the allegations transparently” and reveal what happened. He expressed “zero understanding” for Ibrahim’s appearance at a left-wing election party and emphasized that the party draws a “clear dividing line” from groups that supported Hamas’ terrorist attack on October 7th.

With a view to possible consequences, Ehling said that party exclusions were “very, very difficult” on the left. At the same time, he emphasized: “We now have to take a closer look at what exactly happened and what contacts there were.” The attempt or the contact alone could be enough “to discredit our entire party,” said the Federal Managing Director.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's head of government Manuela Schwesig is insisting on a meeting between prime ministers and Chancellor Merz on the reform course in Germany. “I expect that the Chancellor and the Federal Government will now also invite Prime Ministers and talk about social reforms,” said the SPD politician in the ARD “Morgenmagazin”. These are important for social stability in the country. “I don’t want labor costs to continue to rise, and above all I want us to look at the system to see where there are savings opportunities and where we can make changes.” There are also suggestions from the Pension Commission that are sensible.

The Berlin Left Party state chairwoman Kerstin Wolter is, in her own words, “very surprised by the immense criticism and allegations” that are currently being leveled against her party. “I also reject the accusation that my party is an anti-Semitic party,” she told Deutschlandfunk. The Berlin Left Association in particular has long been criticized - at least in part - for its position on the Middle East conflict and anti-Semitism. Wolter thinks the allegations are exaggerated.

The Berlin SPD vice-chairwoman Cansel Kiziltepe is in favor of coalition negotiations between her party and the election winners, the Left and the Greens. “The people of Berlin decided on left-wing politics on election day,” Kiziltepe told the German Press Agency. “Even if the SPD was clearly voted out, our overlaps with the Left and the Greens are obvious,” said the politician, the Senator for Labor and Social Affairs in the current black-red Senate. “It is our democratic mandate to enter into coalition negotiations with these majorities.”

Former Federal Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich (CSU) considers the previous strategy towards the AfD to have failed and is calling for a radical change of course in dealing with the party. “The exclusion strategy towards the AfD was a mistake,” Friedrich told “Bild”. "It would have been right to force the AfD to take responsibility and let it show its colors in everyday political life. Then the party would have had to show its true colors much earlier," he said.

He also argued that the “firewall” – i.e. the demarcation between the Union and the AfD – had held the different political currents within the AfD together. “There are also conflicting currents in the AfD, from disappointed former Union members to national conservative socialists and right-wing extremists,” said the CSU politician. “This mixture was sealed airtight by the firewall instead of letting it ferment happily.”

Friedrich said: “You only recognize the true character of a party when it is responsible.” So far, the AfD has been “just a projection surface for a lot of things,” said Friedrich, who was Federal Minister of the Interior from 2011 to 2013.

Just days after the election, changes are already becoming apparent in a possible new cabinet of Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig. Education Minister Simone Oldenburg (Left), Science Minister Bettina Martin (SPD) and State Chancellor Patrick Dahlemann (SPD) announced that they would no longer be available for their positions in the new legislative period.

Martin and Dahlemann lost their constituencies to the AfD on Sunday and only entered the state parliament via the state list. The direct election result “is a hard personal turning point for me,” said Dahlemann. After such a result, he could not continue as before.

For the CDU and SPD, the results of the House of Representatives election in Berlin were sobering. The CDU lost 9.5 percent and the SPD 6.3 percent in the repeat election in 2023. Their top candidates should still lead their respective factions through the coming legislature. At the SPD, Steffen Krach and Derya Caglar were unanimously elected as parliamentary group leaders. Stefan Evers was also elected CDU parliamentary group leader with a majority of 93.75 percent.