The social wing of the CDU is demanding that Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) provide specific commitments regarding further reform measures before the summer recess, arguing that the current reform plans are socially unbalanced.
Dennis Radtke, chairman of the Labor Wing (CDA), told the Funke Media Group newspapers that Merz should explain what steps he intends to take in the second half of the year to address these imbalances before his vacation. Merz is scheduled to summarize his government’s work during a traditional summer press conference in Berlin this Wednesday.
Radtke pressed for swift reforms to the inheritance tax and insisted on integrating civil servants into the statutory social security system. Regarding the inheritance tax, he stressed that the government should not wait for the announced ruling from the Federal Constitutional Court on the matter, and that the fight against tax evasion must be visibly strengthened, as little is currently being said about this issue in public debate.
Turning to the issue of civil servants, Radtke called on the Chancellor to take further action, stating he hopes Merz will invite the German civil servants’ union and Verdi to discussions on pension reform immediately after the summer break. He believes a dialogue channel must be opened that is free from “envy debates and populism” to allow negotiations on the subject. Radtke noted that it is impossible to completely overhaul the statutory pension system while simultaneously claiming that changes are categorically off-limits for everyone else.
The CDA Chairman concluded by saying that by the end of the year, the government must demonstrate that it has initiated a reform package that not only introduces structural changes but also ensures that the burdens are distributed fairly and that every population group contributes to restarting economic growth. He emphasized that this is absolutely crucial for the national mood.
