With a view to the financial resolutions in the exploratory talks with the possible coalition partner SPD, Frei said: “We were concerned with the country’s ability to defend, so they may have to make compromises.”
The unification of the Union’s tip with the SPD on financing mechanisms for the future federal government is a departure from previous Union positions. Competing parties therefore accuse the Union of election promises.
There is also resentment within the Union faction – less because of the loosening of the debt brake in favor of higher defense spending than the special fund of 500 billion euros favored by the SPD for the infrastructure.
The chairman of the CDU youth organization, Johannes Winkel, criticized the RND newspapers on Thursday: “The SPD prevailed at the beginning of the negotiations-without making any visible concessions.” In return, the Junge Union now expects “that we enforce our points in migration, economy and pension”.
A cancellation was made by the Ju boss of the fundamental reform of the debt brake announced by the party leaderships of the CDU, CSU and the SPD in the new legislative period, for which the votes of the left would also be required in the Bundestag.
The head of JU Bayern, Christian Doleschal, also rejected a further sufficient reform of the debt brake. “To do this, voices of the left would be necessary, and it would continue to open the locks for debts that the late generations have to pay in the end,” he warned in the RND newspapers.
When asked whether the Union had not broken an election promise with its consent to the financial resolutions, parliamentary managing director freely referred to the rapid changes in foreign and security policy on ZDF, which primarily ends with the US government under President Donald Trump.
“You have to find answers to situations that change or dramatically accelerate – for example the external and security policy situation in our country,” said Frei. In the past few days in particular, the US Ukrainian scandal in the White House had “extreme acceleration of the situation”.
In a meeting of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, there had been significant criticism of the planned special fund infrastructure on Tuesday evening. As the “Spiegel” reported on a protocol of the meeting on Thursday, party and parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) justified his sudden change of course with the changed foreign policy situation.
“I am very grateful that we are fully demonstrated by the” Spiegel “the foreign and defense policy ability of the Federal Republic of Germany with this decision,” Merz is quoted. “If it should happen tonight that Trump is actually considering an exit from NATO or even announces, then as the Federal Republic of Germany, we are the first to respond correctly.”
In the ZDF interview, parliamentary managing director Frei rejected the interpretation that the Union had bought the consent of the potential coalition partner to higher Bundeswehr spending on the special infrastructure special assets requested by the SPD. If a black and red coalition comes about, then “projects are always joint projects,” said the CDU politician. “I don’t think about playing out one against the other.”
