Bremen’s Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD) views the Union as a reliable partner in the fight against right-wing populism.
“I have great trust in the clear anti-AfD stance of the Union and its chancellor candidate” Bovenschulte told the Welt (Tuesday edition). “I have great trust in my minister-president colleagues in the Union-governed federal states, and I know the Bremer Christian Democrats, who have all clearly positioned themselves on this issue.” He added that it is therefore “my hope, my expectation, that it will be different in Germany than in Austria.”
The Bremen Senate Chief had previously expressed sharp criticism on Twitter of the willingness of Austrian conservatives to engage in coalition talks with the right-wing populist FPÖ, accusing them of being willing to “reach out to the fascists” repeatedly.
However, Bovenschulte criticized the insufficient financing of the economic program of CDU and CSU, stating that “even with a very decent additional growth of one to two percent and a reduced basic income that would be no higher than the constitutionally required minimum, there would still be a gap of 60 to 70 billion euros.” He said that there are only two options to close this gap: “Either the Union dismantles the social welfare state as we know it, or it breaks its election promise and gives up on the announced tax cuts.”
Furthermore, he announced that the social benefits granted by the state of Bremen would be put under scrutiny. “We want to systematically examine whether there are areas in Bremen where the expenses per case are higher than the national average, and if so, why that is the case. We will take a close look at every single benefit and then decide where and how we can become more efficient.