The CDU/CSU parliamentary group representing small and medium-sized businesses (Mittelstand) has drawn sharp red lines regarding tax and debt policies, encountering considerable incomprehension. Adis Ahmetovic, the Union faction’s foreign policy spokesperson, described these demands as unwise and provocative. According to Ahmetovic, the internal struggles serve not only to provoke the SPD but also represent an affront to the Chancellor, a figure whose support, he insisted, must come first and foremost from his own faction.
Ahmetovic criticized the persistent atmosphere of drama, arguing that it is maintained by daily disagreements, squabbles, and pronouncements from various factions and individuals. Instead, he believes the public expects the government to demonstrate both clarity and unity in its policies.
The Mittelstand parliamentary group, which is composed of 166 Union deputies, issued a resolution on Wednesday that laid out several demands for the federal government. Specifically, they argued against any increase in income or inheritance tax. They also stipulated that planned relief packages for small and medium incomes must be funded without creating additional burdens for high earners, and furthermore, they opposed any reform of the debt brake.
This friction follows a meeting where CDU leader Friedrich Merz addressed the Social Democrats. In that meeting, the Chancellor called upon both the SPD and, explicitly, his own party members to cease publicly defining red lines for one another.
