SPD chief budget officer Thorsten Rudolph has called on his coalition partners to exercise restraint in the debate surrounding increased spending, particularly regarding the parental allowance program. Rudolph told the “Rheinische Post” on Tuesday that he finds it politically cowardly when all the savings measures that the coalition leaders agreed upon following hard negotiations are immediately challenged by one party or a faction. He suggests this happens because no one wants to be held responsible for the necessary cuts.
Regarding the parental allowance, Rudolph asserted that savings amounting to approximately 6.5% of the funds can be achieved without implementing blanket reductions, and in fact, there is room for more.
When discussing subsidy reductions, he issued a warning against applying the “lawnmower method”-blanket cuts. He argues that indiscriminate cuts to subsidies and financial aid make no sense, especially in the current difficult economic climate, citing energy-intensive companies and social housing as examples.
Instead of broad cuts, Rudolph contends that clear priorities must be established. He proposes that state support should be curtailed, or ideally eliminated entirely, wherever there is no discernible economic benefit, where negative incentives are strengthened, or where the measures result in harmful environmental effects. According to the SPD parliamentary group’s spokesperson for budget policy, this focused approach could make savings of several billion euros readily possible.
