There is a major threat of dissent from the European UnionLeftists can save on black and red with a retirement package
The majority of the government coalition supporting the pension package remains shaky. There was strong opposition to the plan in some sections of the Union faction. However, the missing votes could have come from the left. But it already sets a condition.
The Left remains open to agreeing to a coalition plan to secure a 48 percent pension rate in the Bundestag. “We will discuss this,” said party leader Ines Schwerdtner. However, approval is excluded if the package weakens.
“Current retirement packages are the absolute minimum,” Schwerdtner said. “We absolutely disagree with any rollback.” We’ll see what happens in the end. What is really needed is more fundamental reform, Schwerdtner said. Left-wing groups promote a system where everyone pays, including politicians, entrepreneurs and civil servants.
Due to resistance from Junge Union and the Union parliamentary group, the majority coalition for the pension package wavered. The 64 left-wing lawmakers could help secure a majority. But politically, it would be very sensitive if the black-red coalition depended on the opposition’s votes.
In essence, the debate is about what is called the pension holding line, namely the level of pension security in relation to wages. In a coalition agreement, the CDU, CSU and SPD agreed to extend the 48 percent pension rate cap until 2031. Critics complain that the plan as it has now been formulated will incur additional costs running into billions in the years after 2031.
Unlike the Left, the Green Party clearly does not want to agree to the government’s plans. The group shares the goal of permanently stabilizing the pension rate at 48 percent, as explained by deputy chairman Andreas Audretsch. However, he believes that the Black-Red plan does not carry out substantial reforms so that the interests of the younger generation are also protected.
From the Green Party’s point of view, self-employed people, MPs and civil servants should also be included in statutory pension insurance, said the Green Party politician. Other options to guarantee retirement levels include better childcare structures to ease the integration of family and work, immigration and better integration of refugees into the labor market. “The pensions law is completely inadequate, we Greens will not agree to it,” said the deputy president of the parliamentary group.
Green Party leader Franziska Brantner said a new generation of contracts was now needed – not just on pensions, but also on climate protection, military service and the national debt. The question that arises is “where and how the older generation can make its contribution,” said one of the party leaders.
