Before the Bundestag vote on Thursday to approve the new citizen‑funding reform, Federal Labour Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) defended the proposal. She told the “Rheinische Post” that the plan is a “good reform” that will help people who need support while increasing participation. Bas said it is both socially fair and economically sensible, enabling the government to complete a major project in its first year. The new basic security, she explained, aims to encourage, qualify, and reintegrate people into work, and that the government has found solid solutions for both legal and practical questions.
CDU general secretary Carsten Linnemann also welcomed the reforms. He claimed that the new basic security will bring greater justice to the social system and create broader acceptance. According to Linnemann, assistance will still reach those who need it, but people who can work yet repeatedly miss deadlines or refuse suitable work will no longer receive benefits. He argued that this shift strengthens personal responsibility and self‑reliance while protecting the system from abuse.
In contrast, Michaela Engelmeier, chair of the German Social Association (SoVD), criticized the planned changes. She said that the new basic security would emphasize control and sanctions, leaving support for affected individuals-especially older job seekers-diminished. “Those who claim the measures should not affect the wrong people overlook the 1.8 million children and youths who feel every cut in their parents’ benefits on the ground” she explained. Engelmeier added that the coalition agreement had pledged to preserve the social protection level, a goal she believes the citizen‑funding reform will not meet.