“The results of wrong policies are subsidized with tax money”

The recent political evening in the Bundestag surrounding the success story of the German Fund and the coalition sparked a controversial debate among readers. Most polarizing are fundamental dissatisfaction with governance and harsh criticism of economic and energy policies. Many commented on the low willingness to reform, ideological blockade, and lack of transparency around new funding models. Also noteworthy are voices that say ongoing coalition conflicts are crippling effective politics, while others cast doubt on the sustainability of social and pension policies.

Criticism of government policies and leadership

Many readers accused the government of fundamental incompetence, lack of will to reform, and ideological docility. They see top management as having little credibility or ability to act and most have lost confidence in new measures. Doubts were expressed regarding the future viability of the coalition and its fundamental policies. In particular, measures to address current challenges were deemed inadequate or unrealistic.

“I believe all the problems of this country can be solved. If you want it, you can achieve it.” However, society and the economy have not felt any signs of this. However, even the ideological action taken by a Bavarian citizen, a mother’s pension against reducing the electricity tax, has had very bad psychological consequences for our economy!”

“Is there anyone in charge in this group who makes technical statements that demonstrate competence? Outstanding in this group of amateurs: SPD member Klingbeil. Just funny lines about the mood. I will probably never see visible expertise in this government again. Germany is a nursing home and the nursing staff is the best in training.” For original comments

“You increasingly get the impression that we have a quasi-government. Even though it is in power, it is invisible based on its actions, crippling itself. There is no denying that the compromise was part of a coalition. But if the compromise turns out to be such that almost nothing remains of the basic idea, then you are looking at two unrelated things!” For original comments

“The inhabitants of the political ivory towers in Berlin and Munich continue to talk and live with complete disregard for life, facts and the big problems of this country because of their distance from reality. Placebo politics is also the main thing in this coalition. If political incompetence leads to the disappearance of reality, the future of this country will be over.” For original comments

Criticism of economic and energy policy

The debate here focuses on skepticism towards economic and energy policies such as industrial electricity prices and the German Fund. Lack of planning security and burden sharing between taxpayers and consumers were criticized. Many parties consider these measures too short-term, not conducive to investment and warn against relocating production abroad. The financing of aid and its long-term effectiveness have also been questioned.

“Industrial electricity prices? A hoax! What industry doesn’t have to pay for the electricity it needs, the state does, namely all of us! How else would it work? Electricity doesn’t just get cheaper because these political actors want it that way!” For original comments

“So they agreed on cheap industrial electricity prices. But the details are interesting. In other words, how high or, better yet, low those prices will be. And I also want to know how it will be financed. Electricity won’t just get cheaper just because the government wants it.” For original comments

“I wrote before: “Industrial electricity prices” do not make “industrial electricity” cheaper! The costs are simply “socially distributed”. Simply put: “Other people pay”. – And it’s the taxpayers!!!” For original comments

“Very good. Three years of cheap electricity gives the industry better planning time to then leave Germany completely. What else should our citizens finance in the face of dwindling employment opportunities?” For original comments

“Electricity prices are par per toto for German politics. The result of wrong politics is that we are subsidized with tax money. This is how we quickly move towards higher government quotas and the need for higher taxes and duties. More officials for wealth and inheritance taxes. It’s all predictable.” For original comments

Criticism of coalition disputes and compromise findings

The focus of his comments was criticism of the intra-coalition conflict which is often considered paralyzing. Readers considered the compromise between the Union and the SPD inadequate and committed only to the lowest common denominator. Many see these disputes as the main reason why no major reforms have succeeded and doubt the stability and ability of the current government to take action.

“The CDU provides the chancellor and the SPD can implement much of the program of its left-wing fundamentalist party. The growing burden of this unspoken agreement will be borne by the next generation, the fragile stability of today bought at the price of guaranteed instability in the future. This is nothing but a continuation of the Merkel paradigm with replaced personnel.” For original comments

“How often does a government announce a major breakthrough in reform? All that remains are minimal compromises that are ineffective because they are blocked by a red-green-dominated Federal Council.” For original comments

Criticism of social and pension policies

The comments relate to issues of the welfare state and pension policy. The high burden on the system due to social benefits, the lack of fundamental reform and the burden it places on future generations have been criticized. The debate highlights the uncertainty surrounding pension reform and fears that political conflict around this issue will continue to escalate.

“We are experiencing that industrial production is being replaced economically by nursing homes. And to keep these nursing homes running, we don’t even have enough offspring. The average German over 45 no longer produces enough children for biological reasons. Without mass migration into the labor market, the lights will go out in 10-20 years at the latest.” For original comments

“The government doesn’t have the power to carry out real reforms. At the latest, the SPD-Jusos will get in the way. This group of people is so far from reality that they have become a danger to the future of this country, in all fields. Well, that’s the punishment if the people want a central/right government and now we have a central/left direction!” For original comments

“Yesterday in Lanz, one of the big problems was mentioned: This government decided a few months ago to replace the electricity tax deduction with a mother’s pension fund. As long as any of the three (!) parties think that their lobby and their friends like DEHOGA are more important than the welfare of the country, we will not get out of the impasse. Unfortunately, this one party has been saying for years that they can screw things up!” For original comments

Sarcasm for political communication

In this perspective there is a lot of sarcasm regarding politicians’ public appearances. Many people find political rhetoric and mantras unreasonable or unrealistic. Success stories spread by the media are commented on derisively and their true political merits are questioned.

“From the headline you might think that the supporters of the government parties have announced the long-awaited new elections and we can toast well.” For original comments

“”A well-hidden punch” Yes, yes. You have to give Mr. Söder one thing: He’s resistant to beer tents, but can also do rhetorical fencing with tinfoil. He won’t keep stepping on rhetorical and thematic landmines like Mr. Merz does.” For original comments

“Now the new power begins ei, ei, ei. Söder, two words in English, he probably copied them from Trump. They don’t exist in Bavarian.” For original comments

Skepticism towards German funds and funding model

Readers were skeptical about the German Fund’s funding mechanism plans. They are concerned about the lack of transparency, inefficient distribution of funds, and the short-term impact of such measures. In particular, the impression of a planned economy and the lack of a clear and understandable strategy for mobilizing private capital was criticized. Many parties see a sustainable solution to this problem through more comprehensive reform.

“German funds? Couldn’t that be called a subsidy flush? Another step towards a socialist planned economy!” For original comments

“”Because SPD deputy chairman Lars Klingbeil and the Federal Minister of Finance didn’t even try to explain what exactly is behind the big words “German Fund” and how much money is planned for it.” Is it possible that Klingbeil doesn’t even know what “German Fund” means? Klingbeil is a sociologist: So he has no skills in economics or mathematics. But he can throw away money like Santa Claus does. Crazy.” For original comments

“Every time Lars tells us that the economy will grow thanks to dedicated funding for infrastructure and climate, I ask myself how stupid he thinks the voters are.” For original comments

Other sounds

Individual comments from these areas cannot be assigned to clear clusters and remain unspecific or mixed in content.

How do you assess the coalition’s actions and the current debate regarding the German Fund and economic policy? Is German politics on the right track – or does Germany need a fundamental new start? Join the discussion and share your assessment of the government and reform plans in the comments section.