In the ongoing debate concerning the federal government’s reform package and the reduction of bureaucracy, the Taxpayers’ Union of Germany (BdSt) is demanding sweeping cuts to the civil service.
BdSt President Reiner Holznagel told the newspapers of the Funke Media Group that the status of civil servants must be thoroughly investigated. He stressed that the scope and privileges of the current system need critical review, given the continuously widening financial disparity in society, a trend that has caused significant concern among employees in the private sector.
Holznagel put forward a specific proposal: the number of new positions granted under the civil service must be minimal, restricted only to “core sovereign areas.” According to the BdSt chief, these are sectors where the state directly enforces law-namely, the police, tax administration, and justice system. He argued that civil servant status should represent an “exclusive employment form” rather than being treated as a mere “funding variant for personnel” that simply shifts budgetary burdens into the future, especially in the context of the debt brake.
