German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 21/89, pp. 10868-10871.
Right honorable Frau President. Right honorable ladies and gentlemen. Dear
countrymen. - Dear countrymen.
Herr Chancellor, I really need say before all things that, in regards the first part
of your government declaration, I really asked myself: Where do you live, actually?
In regards your statements, your wishes which you spread here, your polling
results must have gone through the roof. If one looked at that, you spoke
of the costs of failures - of the costs of failures! I say to you: The costs of the
failures rise everyday so long as you are Chancellor. Allow me please to
continue with a citation:
"That which the Social Democrats can do well is to make
debts, raise taxes and ever higher state spending. Now they
give money to foreign people. We now have almost 900
billion euros in state income. Can we occupy ourselves for
once with the thought whether we have a problem on the
spending side?"
End citation. The former Chancellor candidate of the CDU and CSU, Friedrich Merz,
spread these understandable thoughts about one and a half years ago on 6 February
2025 on X. One may therein see, Herr Merz, what interests you in your idle talk
of yesterday. It can be said, that is a mirror image of your entire Chancellorship.
It is and remains for you a unique tragedy. No one can rely on your word. You wriggle
through autumn of reform, through reform spring, into the reform summer. In
regards the duration, we take it you've been quite a time in a reform jam on the decaying
streets and bridges. A quarter of your government time has already run out, and we all
know that the remaining time of this legislature until 2029 will pass by more quickly
than you believe - even if you hold on so long. You nevertheless cannot make me believe
that you had at all thought out the contested themes in the victory whirl of the spring
of 2025.
Exactly so dishonest do you behave in the face of the citizens. The loss of trust in the
word of this Federal government is scarcely still to be figured. You say the one thing,
and as a rule first of all do nothing. As soon as something in the form of a law reaches
the German Bundestag, you in the coalition are at least disagreed in the media or
contradict yourselves on the public stage. Honestly said, I thought you in your parties
are somewhat further. All in all, you paralyze the economic and social progress.
The Union in addition still walls itself in behind a firewall; for the party enemy
identified by you gains ever more in approval, and you lose support and, before
all things, credibility. You underlined this today with your speech. What however
is still not clear is, Herr Chancellor: If you in angst need to hide from us behind your
firewall, why do you actually at the same time make use of the proposals which were
worked up in our Bundestag delegation?
Let us name it by name: You already long understood that you and your party need
to make Politik with our themes so as not to be swept from the political market, like
the erstwhile FDP. Out of pure opportunism, you have turned left in a green direction
and drive in a circle without success.
Your business model thereby further exhausted, you negotiate bad deals so as to
remain in power. As example I just want to recall the climate and transformation
fund. The increase in the billions of this budget item clearly did no harm to your
election as Chancellor in the second round. Only, it appears you were, in your time
out of politics, not really thus prepared for the leadership of a state. And that is
logical, since BlackRock stands, ja, on the other side of the recipients of hard
earned tax means which secure the return of your shareholders.
Jens Spahn (CDU/CSU): Ach herrje!
And precisely this you make clear with the budget Politik of your Federal
government. Your cabinet in the 2027 Federal budget wanted to expend a
total 555 billion euros. For that, the Federal Republic of Germany will be
indebted by an additional 118.7 billion; with that of last year, over 200
billion euros of new debts. That is already double that of the original planning.
Besides: Of the European treaties like Maastricht, Herr Chancellor, we
no longer need speak at all. You for long no more observe them.
Alexander Hoffmann (CDU/CSU): How then would you
do it, Herr Chrupalla? Tell for once!
I want to again remind you, Herr Merz: A state is no business firm quoted on the
exchange, which in any case cannot at option be quickly purchased, wrecked
and merged.
Alexander Hoffmann (CDU/CSU): Ever the same speech!
What however you could know: In regards to personnel and to processes, a
state needs to be set up lean. And also there, this Federal government uses no
savings potential in which for example it consistently takes into the state
pension system the servants of the state, Herr Hoffmann. That would be a real reform.
How then do you want to still longer explain to the citizens that, for example,
officials without a high income have at their disposal 70 percent already at
pension age, and all others need to secure their retirement portion through ETF
financial business, by which apparently armaments concerns still earn money
for your war. And just in times of rising insolvencies, weak economic growth, of
de-industrialization in the chemical industry, of the de facto elimination of mini-jobs,
in times of war which make necessary the rebate at the pump, the sozial
splitting needs to have an end. And just that which is financed by the community
needs to act as a part of the community.
President Julia Klöckner: Herr member, do you permit an interim
question from the ranks of the Union delegation, and that is from
Herr Alexander Hoffmann?
Bitte schön.
Alexander Hoffmann (CDU/CSU): Thanks, Herr Chrupalla, that
you permit the interim question. I was of course well nigh
astonished. You speak here for minutes and thereby do what you
always plainly do: You bad mouth [quatscht] our country into
a depression.
Stephan Brandner (AfD): Na, na, na!
Alexander Hoffmann (CDU/CSU): You bad mouth our people
into a depression, Afterwards, Frau Weidel will speak. She does
precisely the same. Now I am happy that in your speech finally
for once occurs a position which was clear on how the AfD would
do it.
Bernd Baumann (AfD): We say that continually every day!
Alexander Hoffmann (CDU/CSU): That was the following position:
We reconstruct the pension account when the officials finally pay
into the pension. That was finally a concrete proposal. You have
clearly occupied yourselves with funding it. I want to share with
you -
President Julia Klöckner: Excuse me. Quite briefly: It needs be
possible when a member of your delegation permits a question
that you first listen to the question. Yet this also belongs with
that: This is impulse control. Bitte.
Alexander Hoffmann (CDU/CSU): Thus, you are the delegation
with the most interim questions, then you can also listen for
once when someone else asks. How would that be, actually?
The AfD thus finally makes a concrete proposal. The officials
pay into the pension account, and we thereby reconstruct the
pension system. Herr Chrupalla, there are various studies -
besides, the preceding pension commission also occupied itself
with this question - which have arrived actuarily at a fully clear
result: The pension account cannot thereby be reformed and,
before all, also not be placed on a stable footing, since opposed
were corresponding payments costs. Apart from that, the officials
provision is fundamentally protected on that account. I now
confront you with these studies and would gladly have your
answer whether you, against this background, still want to
adhere to this epic proposal.
Thus first, Herr Hoffmann. When I permit to you the question - you speak frequently
of the "delegitimization of parliament" to which we, ja, allegedly contribute - and when
the leader of the opposition gives a speech here, then he speaks, and does not "bad
mouth", as you label it.
Point one: You nevertheless always speak of civility [Anstand], and then I at least
expect that you as State group chief of the CSU also have this civility. Point two:
Yes, we in our demands have also included that all pay into the system of the
Pension Insurance, officials also.
Alice Weidel (AfD): And politicians!
Alexander Hoffmann (CDU/CSU): Do the math!
That is justice; it is about us. You have taken the politicians as a circle of persons
which we have always supported. You espied this from us, because of course
ever more citizens demand this. That it does not proceed from today to tomorrow,
that officials - with a terminal date regulation - should pay in, this is fully clear.
Yet it should nevertheless be. Why? A pensioner in Germany receives an average
3,400 euro pension for the same employment time
Alice Weidel (AfD): Clearly less!
of a tradesman, a member of the Mittelsand, a quite normal doctor, a nurse, thus
all those who have paid into the retirement system. The average pension of these
is nevertheless 1,200 euros for men and 1,000 euros for women. Do you find that just?
Precisely that is the injustice, and that is the two-class society in the retirement which
we want to abolish.
Jens Spahn (CDU/CSU): Question not answered!
[trans: tem]
