Renewal of the CDU
“Will eventually retire at 72”
By Marko Schlichting
5/24/2023 5:02 am
The CDU wants to miss a new basic program, the previous one is 16 years old. At Markus Lanz, deputy boss Carsten Linnemann explains who the Christian Democrats score with – and where they want to save.
Cadenabbia is a small, secluded place on Lake Como in Italy. There, in the Villa La Collina, the first German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer once spent his holidays. He was drawn there again and again. He made the villa his summer residence. And that’s where the CDU program committee met last week to discuss the party’s new basic program. The previous program dates from 2007. Now some things are to change, and there should also be a “turning point” in the CDU. The new basic program is to be decided at a party conference next year. Deputy Chairman Carsten Linnemann outlines the plans for Markus Lanz on ZDF.
The most important demands include a climate policy that is open to energy and a reform of education policy. But for Linnemann, head of the Basic Values Commission, a tax reform is also due.
Increase starting salary for top tax rate
For the politician, this includes the long-promised abolition of the solidarity surcharge, which is currently still being paid by people with very high incomes. The CDU would like to increase the top tax rate from 42 to 45 percent. “If it’s up to me, it can also be 48 or 49 percent,” says Linnemann at Markus Lanz. “The middle-class belly must be abolished,” is his goal. “From an income of 63,000 euros a year, the top tax rate of 42 percent applies. That hits the middle class.” When it comes to tax reform, Linnemann wants to focus on the people “who really need it.” To do this, he wants to raise the starting salary for the highest tax rate to 100,000 euros per year. “I don’t want to relieve those who earn a lot, but I don’t want to burden them either,” says Linnemann.
The politician criticizes that politicians care too little about small and medium-sized businesses. “This country only cares about the people who are at the bottom or at the top. But the people who go to work and get involved fall behind. So nobody from abroad will come to Germany, because we have the highest after Belgium Taxes. That’s why Germany isn’t attractive.”
Savings in the social sector
Linnemann wants to save, among other things, in the social sector: “We have to think about a social benefit rate of 30 percent. Then it’s over.” Specifically, that means: 30 percent of the gross domestic product should be spent on social benefits, no more. Social security benefits are currently a good 35 percent of GDP, according to “Focus”. “We can no longer afford politics with the watering can with full hands,” said Linnemann. In the future, the CDU only wants to support the people “who really need it” in the social sector. A third mother’s pension, for example, could then no longer exist.
CDU for “active pension”
According to Linnemann, there should also be a reform of pensions. In this way, the retirement age is to be linked to increasing life expectancy. “It makes sense that we work longer hours as we get older.” Linnemann wants people to be able to retire at the age of 67 in 2030. After that, the retirement age should rise steadily, to 70, maybe even 72 years. The CDU politician cannot name a point in time for this.
In addition, according to Linnemann, the CDU would like more support for people with reduced earning capacity and they would like to introduce a so-called “active pension”. “Anyone who reaches the statutory retirement age can earn up to a certain amount tax-free. That means we will have hundreds of thousands of people who will work longer. That’s my belief,” says Linnemann at Lanz. At the same time, the CDU advocates private pension insurance for everyone, with people on low incomes being supported by the state.
According to Linnemann, the new basic program of the CDU should apply for the next ten to fifteen years. “We are on the verge of driving this country to the wall. It’s no longer working everywhere. We have to set new priorities. We have to make an honest program with unpleasant truths. That’s my claim,” summarizes the CDU -Politician together the goals of his party.