Chief of the Chancellor’s Office Thorsten Frei (CDU) announced that the coalition will bring about major social reforms this year, but also cautioned that not everything would be finished by December.
He said the first large social reforms-including a prioritised pension plan-would be in place by year‑end, and that all changes the coalition has set out will be carried out “as quickly as possible” but still “by the end of the legislative period”. He added that the implementation will be phased: some commission proposals are quick to implement, others will take a longer lead time.
Frei dismissed the need for a sweeping tax overhaul, noting that the coalition agreement already offers enough flexibility to respond to changing conditions, so there is no need for renegotiation.
He also criticized a proposal from the Union’s Mittelstands‑Vereinigung to abolish the so‑called “lifestyle part‑time” arrangement, calling it “completely alien to CDU politics” and contrary to the belief that the government should dictate how people live.
