The Green party has accused the “black-red” coalition of acting in a manner bordering on work refusal. This concern stems from the number of initiatives proposed by the black-red parties in the Bundestag, as well as the general working hours of the parliament. Irene Mihalic, the parliamentary director for the Greens, told the “Welt” that despite the federal government announcing major reforms since last summer, the parliament has yet to achieve anything concrete. She pointed out that the plenary sessions are currently shorter than usual because the coalition is proposing so few laws. Mihalic added that the previous week marked a low point, noting that the coalition proposed as many initiatives as the Greens alone. She conceded that an 6 PM end to the session day might be good for work-life balance, but suggested that the expectation for parliamentarians should be different.
Available Bundestag statistics covering the first eleven months since Friedrich Merz (CDU) was sworn in as Chancellor show that the black-red cabinet, along with the Union and SPD parliamentary groups, have introduced significantly more initiatives into the Bundestag than the “traffic light” coalition led by Olaf Scholz (SPD), accompanied by the Green and FDP factions, during the same period. During this time, the Merz government presented 156 government bills to the Bundestag. In comparison, the Scholz cabinet presented 84. The Union and SPD factions jointly submitted 22 initiatives, while the “traffic light” factions submitted 43 initiatives in their first eleven months.
Dirk Wiese, a Bundestag member who was part of the “traffic light” coalition, told the “Welt” that the accusation of work refusal against the black-red government by the Greens was “a bad joke”. He argued that during the “traffic light” administration, it was difficult to determine who was the greater impediment to necessary reforms-the Greens or the FDP. Wiese claimed that the decision-making process within the Greens was often so confusing that it was unclear whether an agreed-upon decision would actually hold, adding that understandings were frequently overturned “from above”. He concluded that cooperation with the Union faction functions better and more professionally.
Steffen Bilger, the first parliamentary director of the Union faction, stated to the “Welt” that the accusation of “work refusal” has no basis. He characterized the black-red grouping as a “working coalition” arguing that the numbers clearly prove this: “In the first eleven months, we introduced 50 more initiatives into the Bundestag than the ‘traffic light’ government involving the Greens in the comparison period”. He based this comparison on the total number of government bills submitted to the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, totaling 170 for the black-red coalition versus 90 for the “traffic light” coalition. Regarding the claim that plenary sessions often end early, Bilger countered by stating that it is “not normal for the Bundestag to regularly meet until midnight or even later”. He asserted that the crucial factor is what is ultimately decided.