Meeting of the Union and the SPD: Launch of new aid from Corona

The coalition agreed to greater assistance from the crown at night. Families and low wage earners should benefit, as well as businesses and the catering industry.

They sat together in the Chancellery for about four and a half hours. At the end: Paz, Alegría and Heinrich Heine. As the new leader of the CDU, Armin Laschet had brought the booklets as an inaugural gift. Best SPD Duo: Happy.

Kai Clemente
ARD capital study

So at the start of the super election year, there is harmony rather than conflict, as all parties claim, including the leader of the CSU regional group, Dobrindt. Talk about a “very good atmosphere”.

That was not necessarily to be expected, because one or another declaration beforehand already had the feeling that one could be in electoral campaign mode.

Praise Laschet

And that, although at the table were at least the already nominated candidate for chancellor of the SPD and two possible candidates for the Union: the head of the CSU, Söder, and the new head of the CDU, Laschet. He made no comment after the meeting, but unsurprisingly he received praise from his parliamentary group leader Brinkhaus.

It fit the bill perfectly, and that’s right: Armin Laschet is very well connected here in Berlin.

The results document lists seven points. Including a one-time child voucher of 150 euros per child, that’s half the payment made last year. Hartz IV recipients also receive a special one-time payment of 150 euros. That is significantly less than a monthly crisis surcharge demanded by social organizations, the Greens and the Left. Esken, co-leader of the SPD, is still satisfied.

We have put together a very good package. Of course you could have wished for more. We will see how the pandemic unfolds and if we may need to put together other similar programs.

Help for companies and catering establishments

The SPD has fought another concern: Easier access to basic security will last until the end of the year. In the coalition committee give and take, the Union has its own hit list. This includes: Businesses can offset their losses in the pandemic to a much greater degree with profits from previous years and thus save taxes.

For this, the so-called loss carry-over is doubled. Additionally, the restaurant industry, which has been hit hard by the shutdown, will benefit from a 7% lower VAT rate by the end of next year, reports CSU regional group head Dobrindt.

An important sign that there is perspective and that losses occurring now can be recovered in the future.

Much agreement

The cultural sector, which has also been forced to stop, will receive another 1 billion euros. And the Euro drone program operated with European partners continues as planned, but expressly states that the contract does not include weapons, because the SPD leadership would not have agreed.

So here too there is agreement, but not against the law of the supply chain. SPD co-leader Walter-Borjans had previously emphasized that decency dictated that goods for Germany should not be bought through poor working conditions abroad. At this point, however, postponement rather than results, perhaps also in the sense of harmony.