A German parliamentary faction has rejected a proposal to abolish the parental benefit, also known as the “Elterngeld” in Germany. The CDU/CSU fraction in the Bundestag, led by family policy spokesperson Silvia Breher, argued that the benefit has proven to be a central family and equal opportunities policy achievement.
According to Breher, the goal of the policy should be to enable working parents to decide on having children in the future as well. She warned that if the parental benefit were to be abolished, parents, especially mothers, would have to save for their child’s future and if they could not, they would be forced to rely on social benefits to make ends meet.
Breher criticized the proponents of abolishing the parental benefit, saying that they underestimate the importance of good family policy conditions for a strong economy. The SPD faction, in a response to a query by the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, declined to comment on the issue, citing ongoing talks with the CDU. The SPD, however, has described the parental benefit as a “success story” in its election program and has called for its expansion, aiming to create stronger incentives for fathers and increasing the total number of parental benefit months.