Chancellor Olaf Scholz apparently no longer wants to leave budget planning to Finance Minister Christian Lindner alone. He is said to have intervened in the talks.
According to media reports, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) personally got involved in the internal government dispute over the 2024 budget. As the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” and the “Welt” reported on Wednesday, citing government circles, three-way talks are now being held between Scholz, Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) and the respective ministers. According to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, Vice Chancellor and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) approved the procedure.
Draft probably before the summer break
The preparation of the federal budget for the coming year has been difficult for weeks. Lindner announced in May that he would not be able to present his draft budget to the cabinet on June 21, as planned.
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Last week, the Minister of Finance gave the individual ministries spending ceilings and asked them to submit proposals for savings in their budgets within these limits. A few days ago, the Ministry of Finance said that Scholz and Lindner wanted the government draft to be available before the parliamentary summer recess. The Budget Committee of the Bundestag, which then continues to work with the draft, also expects this. The last regular cabinet meeting before the summer break would be on July 5th.
