Fourteen civil‑society organisations in Germany have joined forces to launch a new alliance for the welfare state. The coalition announced its intention on Tuesday in Berlin: to build a strong, future‑proof social state.
The alliance criticises the current political discourse, which it says increasingly portrays the welfare state as unfundable or merely a cost burden. Instead, it presents a “positive, evidence‑based perspective” arguing that the welfare state is not only financially viable but also essential for social peace, economic participation and democratic stability.
It calls on the federal government to shape the ecological transition in a socially just way and warns of a worrying trend in which more people are losing trust in public institutions. The organisations want to pressure policymakers to reaffirm the welfare state’s role in ensuring social security and societal cohesion.
Members of the alliance include the Arbeiter‑Samariter‑Bund Deutschland, Arbeiterwohlfahrt, Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND), Deutsche Caritasverband, Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB), Deutscher Mieterbund, Paritätische Gesamtverband, Diakonie Deutschland, IG Metall, SoVD, Sozialverband VdK, Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft Verdi, Volkssolidarität, and the Zentralwohlfahrtsstelle der Juden in Deutschland.
