The Greens indicate their willingness to enter into negotiations on an economic change requested by the FDP. Its co-chairwoman Ricarda Lang said on Friday during a panel discussion at the Weimer Media Group's Ludwig Erhard Summit in Tegernsee that an effort is necessary this year to improve the economy, whatever it is called, this year. The key points should be to reduce bureaucracy, energy prices, investments and address the shortage of skilled workers. The structural tasks remained unfinished.
FDP vice-president Wolfgang Kubicki, whose party has recently fought fierce battles with its governing partner, the Greens, over the correct direction of the government, was astonished and addressed Lang with these words: “I invite you to join the FDP “. that the liberals will present a program for an economic recovery in the near future.
Kubicki had previously complained that Germany's competitiveness had greatly decreased: “We are currently falling behind, the level of education is falling “dramatically.”
Opposition leader Merz criticizes the “explosion of the welfare state”
The leader of the CDU party, Friedrich Merz, considered that the country really needs an “Agenda 2030”. However, this is no longer as clear to the population as it was when the red-green federal government of SPD Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was drawing up “Agenda 2010”, because unemployment is not as high today as it was then. Merz emphasized that the Union will not accept higher debt without reforms. He complained of an “exploding welfare state.”
SPD co-chair Saskia Esken responded in the debate: “This government is investing more than any other government has ever faced such a difficult situation before.”
The four participants in the summit's final roundtable, a meeting for economic and political decision-makers, assessed the economic situation in Germany as “very tense” (Merz), “very challenging” (Lang), “defiantly bad” ( Kubicki) or “worried” (Esken). The question of a possible premature collapse of the Berlin traffic light coalition played no role in the debate.