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Merkel’s election rivals promise minimum wage

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's top election rivals, seeking to gain ground ahead of a September vote, on Thursday vowed to take on the plight of millions of working poor by pushing for a national minimum wage.

Published: 11 July 2013 15:00 CEST

Merkel's election rivals promise minimum wage

Photo: DPA

The Social Democratic Party (SPD)’s candidate Peer Steinbrück said this would promote social justice, bring Germany in line with most EU members, and stimulate demand in Europe’s biggest economy.

Together with their campaign allies the Greens, the SPD pledged to introduce a minimum wage of €8.50 by next February, aiming to help especially women who make up 60 percent of low-wage workers.

The Greens’ Katrin Göring-Eckardt said 6.8 million Germans are employed in a low-wage sector that is second only to those of some eastern European countries, earning on average less than seven euros an hour.

Steinbrück, a former finance minister, said studies had shown that an €8.50 minimum wage would boost German domestic demand by some €19 billion, making it “a stimulus programme in its own right.”

He charged that Merkel’s proposal – to allow different negotiated minimum wages by region and industrial sector – would create “a patchwork of rules across Germany” with hundreds of separate wage deals struck.

Powerful metal workers and engineering union IG Metall backed the plan, calling it “the first and most important step in reordering the labour market.”

Merkel’s government, which also includes the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP), argues that an across-the-board minimum wage would endanger jobs, pointing to Germany’s current low unemployment rate of 6.9 percent.

Merkel is rated Germany’s most popular politicians in most polls, and her conservative party is far ahead in national surveys, although they have lost a string of regional and city elections in recent years.

A poll this week by the Forsa institute pointed at a tight election race, placing both the ruling coalition of Merkel’s conservatives and FDP, and the SPD-Greens alliance, at 41 percent.

AFP/jcw

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Tax cuts and military service: How the CDU wants to change Germany

It may be more than a year until the next round of federal elections in Germany, but as spring turns into summer, the political campaigning is already heating up.

In the latest polls at the end of April, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) parties were still riding high at over 30 percent.

In the upcoming EU elections in June and federal elections next year, the conservatives are hoping to translate these poll numbers into significant wins. If the trend continues, they could once more take the reins of Europe’s largest economy, heading up the chancellory and acting as the largest governing party after a four-year hiatus.

At their party conference in Berlin this week, CDU leader Friedrich Merz said he hoped to win votes by appealing to swing voters and become “the people’s party of the centre”. But the new party programme agreed on by conference delegates has been widely seen as a lurch to the right.

The new 50-page Grundsatzprogramm, which sets out the party’s core principles, marks the first time this document has been rewritten since 2007, when Angela Merkel was Chancellor of Germany and leader of the CDU.

It’s a distinct break away from the 120-page programme set out in the Merkel years, with a strong emphasis on tough asylum rules and identity politics, as well as incentives to work longer hours and later in life.

Here are some of the key policies to know about.

Integration, religion and Leitkultur

At the centre of the Union’s new party programme is the concept of Leitkultur, or dominant culture, which stands in opposition to multiculturalism and demands that migrants accept German values and way of life.

According to the CDU, Leitkultur means “a shared awareness of home and belonging”, an “understanding of our traditions and customs” and knowledge of German culture and language, as well as a commitment to the German constitution. Immigrants should accept these things “without ifs or buts”, the programme states.

German Grundgesetz

Two copies of the German Grundgesetz, or Basic Law, lie on a table in a library. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Frank Molter

In terms of religion, the CDU believes that people of the Jewish faith belong in Germany, but only some muslims do. “Muslims who share our values are part of Germany’s religious diversity and our society,” the party writes. But: “An Islam that does not share our values and rejects our liberal society does not belong in Germany.”

Looking at Germany itself, the party believes in a “cosmopolitan patriotism” that protects the country’s rich history and traditions while acknowledging historic guilt.

Citizenship and language

In line with its emphasis on Leitkultur, the CDU wants all future applicants for German citizenship to formally acknowledge Israel’s right to existence.

Under the party’s plans, all children in Germany would face a compulsory and standardised language test at the age of four to check their ability to communicate in Germany. Children who are struggling would undergo a mandatory year of school preparation in a local Kita.

Compulsory military service

Having originally floated the idea in very soft terms, the CDU emerged from its party conference with a new policy to bring back compulsory military services in stages.

At first, the party wants to introduce a contingent conscription where conscripts to the military are only called up as and when they are needed. This would culminate in the reintroduction of a compulsory year of service after school, in which young people would either undergo military service or volunteer in the social sector.

This would help plug deficiencies in the Bundeswehr (German army) and manage the growing threat posed by Russia, the party emphasised.

Tax breaks for middle classes

Attempting to woo the “working middle”, the CDU has aired plans to raise the threshold for the top income tax bracket of 42 percent, which currently stands at around €63,000.

In addition, the party wants to offer tax breaks for people who take on extra hours at work. Those in full-time employment who work more than their contracted hours won’t be taxed on their overtime.

Other tax breaks would include relief on social contributions for people in lower tax brackets, and an “attractive” corporation tax to encourage economic growth.

CDU party conference

CDU leader Friedrich Merz, Ursula von der Leyen and Bavarian state premier and CSU leader Markus Söder at the CDU party conference in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

No end to debt break

As a “promise to future generations”, the CDU says it will encourage sustainable politics that give future governments financial “room to manoeuvre”, in spite of the challenges posed by an aging population.

“This is only possible with solid finances and a clear commitment to the debt brake,” the party states. In other words, the party will continue to cap borrowing at a meagre 0.35 percent of GDP.

Return to nuclear energy

In the aftermath of the energy crisis, the CDU says it wants to ensure that the energy supply remains secure, clean and affordable – which means the return of nuclear power. “Germany can’t currently do without nuclear power plants,” the party writes.

According to the conservatives, renewable energy sources should be expanded while also using fossil fuels – with an emphasis on gas rather than coal.

When it comes to fighting climate change, the CDU is pinning its hopes on the free-market economy, using financial incentives and new technologies to attempt to steer things in the right direction.

Pensions and social welfare

The CDU says it is committed to securing pensions over the long-term by topping up contributions through capital investments – and the party also wants the system to be fair to hard workers.

“Those who have worked and paid contributions should receive more than someone who hasn’t,” the programme states.

Pensioners sit on a bench in Dresden

Pensioners sit on a bench in Dresden. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Sebastian Kahnert

Though there is no mention of raising the pension age, there is no mention of capping it, either, but the party seems to be counting partly on incentives to encourage people to stay in work. If employees decide to stay on at their job past pension age, they should pay less tax on their earnings.

On the welfare side, the CDU states that work should pay and those who neither work nor study should be at a distinct financial disadvantage.

Family and identity

True to its conservative and Christian roots, the new programme emphasises that marriage and family should be the core unit in German society. However, the concept of “family” has been broadened out to include same-sex marriages, single parents and so-called patchwork families.

“Family is where parents support children and children support parents in the long term,” the CDU explains.

That said, the CDU isn’t quite so liberal when it comes to gendered language and gender identity: the party is against using “forced” gender-inclusive language on public broadcasters and maintains that biological sex is an “unchangeable fact”.

Rwanda-style asylum plans

In a sea change from the era of Angela Merkel, the CDU wants to significantly toughen up laws for refugees to make Germany a less attractive place for people to claim asylum.

The party’s new programme sets out plans for a scheme similar to the United Kingdom’s controversial Rwanda policy, which would see asylum seekers transported to a third country while their applications were being processed and remaining in this country if their applications were successful.

A proposal to grant recognised asylum seekers the right to stay in Germany did not receive a majority at the party conference.

However, given the fact that the UK’s Rwanda policy has been dogged by legal issues – not least the claims that it contravenes international law – it is unclear if this policy could ever be enacted.

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