A new rift appears to be looming within the Union. As reported by the Focus, the top leaders of CDU and CSU are on a collision course over the issues of e-mobility and mothers’ pension.
CDU Chairman Friedrich Merz has taken a clear stance against CSU Chairman Markus Söder on the issue of a premium for e-cars. “No good idea” Merz said to the magazine about the plan from Bavaria: “Subsidies and premiums are generally not a good solution in our economic order. They can be justified in exceptional cases. But then it must be an exceptional case. Otherwise, it’s just wasted money and makes the products more expensive.”
According to Merz, it is not the politicians who decide the future of e-mobility, but the consumers. “I personally drive a hybrid and am very satisfied with it. But I also know about the limited technical possibilities. And that’s why, in the end, it’s the consumer’s decision, as long as politics and business have set the right framework conditions.”
The CDU also disagrees with the CSU’s demand for an expansion of the mothers’ pension. “That’s a CSU demand that we respect” Merz said briefly about Söder’s proposal. At the same time, he promises that in the event of a chancellorship, pensioners will not experience any cuts: “It has never happened in Germany that pension cuts have been made. Whoever claims the opposite is lying.” Merz also explicitly rules out a pension at the age of 70. “Whoever wants to work longer, we will offer attractive incentives: a performance-related pension with the doubling of the basic allowance.