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Schäuble says SPD ‘damaged’ German government

German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said on Saturday the Social Democrats had seriously damaged Germany’s ruling coalition with his Christian Democrats by swinging to left politically.

Published: 8 March 2008 11:47 CET

The Social Democratic Party’s (SPD) failed attempt to work with the hard-line socialist Left Party in the German state of Hesse has destroyed the trust between the SPD and the conservatives led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, Schäuble told the daily newspaper Die Welt in an interview.

“The minimum level of trust you need to have – regardless of competing politically – is now seriously damaged,” he said.

Schäuble was careful to add that Christian Democrats still intended to govern with the centre-left SPD until the next general election in 2009. “It will be ended orderly,” he said, but noted that the CDU hoped to ditch the SPD for a coalition with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP).

Though the FDP remains the CDU’s preferred partner, Schäuble urged his party to be flexible in seeking out new political alliances, such as the possible coalition between the CDU and the environmentalist Greens in Hamburg.

“We have to rethink the idea that all democratic parties fundamentally must be considered for coalitions,” Schäuble said.

Germany's Scholz rejects calls for later retirement in Labour Day message

“For me, it is a question of decency not to deny those who have worked for a long time the retirement they deserve,” said Scholz.

Employees in Germany worked more hours in 2023 than ever before: “That’s why it annoys me when some people talk disparagingly about ‘Germany’s theme park’ – or when people call for raising the retirement age,” he said.

Scholz also warned of creating uncertainty due to new debates about the retirement age. “Younger people who are just starting out in their working lives also have the right to know how long they have to work,” he said.

Scholz did not explicitly say who the criticism was targeted at, but at its party conference last weekend, the coalition partner FDP called for the abolition of pensions at 63 for those with long-term insurance, angering its government partners SPD and the Greens.

Scholz saw the introduction of the minimum wage nine years ago – and its increase to twelve euros per hour by his government – as a “great success”. “The proportion of poorly paid jobs in our country has shrunk as a result,” he said.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Is it worthwhile to set up a private pension plan in Germany?

However, he said there were still too many people “who work hard for too little money,” highlighting the additional support available through housing benefit, child allowance and the reduction of social security contributions for low earners.

“Good collective wage agreements also ensure that many employees finally have more money in their pockets again,” he added.

And he said that the country wouldn’t “run out of work” in the coming years.

“On the contrary! We need more workers,” he said, explaining that that’s why his government is ensuring “that those who fled to us from Russia’s war in Ukraine get work more quickly.”

Work means “more than making money,” said Scholz. “Work also means: belonging, having colleagues, experiencing recognition and appreciation.”

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