Gabriel Felbermayr, an economist, praised Vice Chancellor of the SPD, Lars Klingbeil, for his proposed reforms. Speaking to the funke Media Group’s newspapers on Friday, Felbermayr stated that he found it quite radical, though arguably in principle, for an SPD vice chancellor to argue that maintaining prosperity would necessitate increased working hours for everyone. He noted that Klingbeil aims to address the fundamental causes of the problems.
The head of the SPD did first present a reform agenda for Germany at a highly attended event with the Bertelsmann Foundation at the end of March. Felbermayr added that detailed planning is still needed to implement these ideas. Specifically, he highlighted that the plans involve reducing incentives for part-time work and reforming the marriage split system while safeguarding the constitutional guarantee of marriage and family.
The economist suggested that many of Klingbeil’s approaches might appeal to the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. He remarked that this opens up opportunities for compromise that seemed unimaginable just a few weeks prior.
Felbermayr, who leads the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO), has been a member of the German Expert Council for assessing overall economic development since March. This body is also known as the Council of Economic Advisors.
