Around a year before the next regular federal election, the SPD is well behind the Union in surveys and only receives around half as much support as the CDU/CSU. Co-party leader Lars Klingbeil therefore called for a “catch-up” effort by the Social Democrats. How this should succeed in terms of content is now shown in a draft resolution for the party executive committee, which is to be passed at a meeting this Sunday. The focus is on economic policy.
The six-page paper with the title “We are fighting for Germany’s future: stimulating the economy, securing jobs, relieving the burden on employees” is available to the Tagesspiegel. Klingbeil had already announced that the fight for industrial jobs would become a central area of debate, especially with the CDU.
In this way we stimulate the economy from below and from the middle of society.
The SPD in a strategy paper
The SPD is planning, among other things, a fundamental tax reform. “This reform will give people more financial flexibility and strengthen purchasing power. In this way, we stimulate the economy from below and from the middle of society,” the paper says.
Current survey
In the Sunday trend, which the opinion research institute Inas surveys for “Bild am Sonntag”, wins the Wagenknecht party BSW one percentage point compared to the previous week and climbs to nine percent, the AfD loses one point to 19 percent.
The Union The CDU/CSU remains the strongest force with an unchanged 31 percent. The values are also unchanged the SPD (16 percent), the Greens (eleven percent), the FDP (four percent) and the left (three percent). Seven percent of those surveyed would vote for one of the other parties. (Reuters)
Income tax: The reform should be designed in such a way that there are discounts for around 95 percent of taxpayers, but an increase for the one percent with the highest incomes, the SPD proposes. “Taxpayers with the very highest incomes can take on a little more responsibility in order to finance a tax cut for the majority of people,” the approach is outlined in the strategy paper. The paper doesn’t get any more specific on this point.
Purchase bonus for electric cars: In order to promote the sale of electric cars, a purchase bonus should be examined, among other things. “The future of our car country Germany lies in e-mobility.” The German auto industry is currently in a serious crisis, partly because sales of electric cars have collapsed.
“In coordination with industry and unions, we will examine purchasing incentives that will specifically help German industry.” The SPD also wants to introduce an electric car quota for leasing providers and provide tax incentives for electric company cars.
Criticism came immediately from the Union. The CDU transport politician Christoph Ploß told the newspapers of the Funke media group: “This does not solve the fundamental problems. The German automotive industry doesn’t need flashes in the pan financed by German taxpayers, but rather structural improvements.”
In large cities, charging needs to be made easier with more charging stations, said the chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the transport committee. “Electricity prices also need to fall. If driving with petrol or diesel is cheaper than with electricity, no one should be surprised that so few people buy an electric car.”
Minimum wage: The paper calls for a “quick and gradual increase in the minimum wage to 15 euros”. The “phase of real wage and purchasing power losses” for employees should be ended. Since January 2024, the lower wage limit has been 12.41 euros gross per hour. At the beginning of next year, the minimum salary will rise to 12.82 euros.
Taxes for companies: In order to promote investment in Germany, the party does not want to reduce corporate taxes. Instead, it wants to “link comprehensive super depreciation and tax bonuses for companies to investments in future industries and good jobs in Germany,” as the draft resolution says.
“Anyone who invests in Germany receives tax benefits.” This would be a strategy that the US government also uses to attract companies and investments.
Electricity prices for business: The party also stands behind the Suggestion from Chancellor Olaf Scholzto relieve companies of network charges, for example. “With the measures proposed by the Chancellor, a comprehensive package for permanently competitive industrial electricity prices is now on the table, which complements existing and agreed relief.”
The expansion of electricity price compensation, particularly to the chemical and glass industries, and the additional instruments to reduce network fees are important steps towards competitive electricity prices, especially for energy-intensive companies. However, the federal government has not yet agreed on the proposed tax subsidy for capping transmission network fees.
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The SPD also calls for one again in the paper Debt brake reform and promotes them Establishment of a Germany fundto mobilize private and public capital for future investments.
Scholz’s SPD sharply criticized Merz
One of the traffic light coalition will be rapid adoption of the Federal Collective Bargaining Act and the Pension Package II required. This must be passed this year. The SPD promised long-term stabilization of pension levels in the 2021 federal election. Millions of current pensioners, but especially those who will retire in the future, benefited from this.
The Union and its candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz The paper accuses “wage restraint, social cuts, pension cuts, the restriction of the right to strike, the privatization of public infrastructure and the cancellation of public investments”. These proposals are the wrong way to get Germany out of the crisis.
More about the SPD at Tagesspiegel Plus:
What makes the designated SPD general secretary tick? A mammoth task awaits Matthias Miersch. Test election in Olaf Scholz’s homeland. Does Hamburg herald a change in the federal government? Party leadership meets party base The Social Democrats disagree on the K question
“Anyone who insults employees in Germany as lazy and denies them good wages and secure pensions has lost respect for the true top performers who keep our country running every day with their hard work,” the paper says.
“This also includes the many millions of employees with a migration background and their families who have to experience every day being described as a ‘problem’ by the CDU and CSU.”
