Johannes Winkel, the Federal Chairman of the Young Union (CDU), publicly offered strong support to Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Katherina Reiche (CDU), amidst escalating disputes within the governing coalition involving Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) and CDU Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who had previously distanced himself from Reiche. Speaking to the “Bild-Zeitung”, Winkel stated that Reiche “is the voice of the social market economy in the federal government and deserves all support for her course of action”. He then zeroed in on Klingbeil, criticizing the finance minister’s proposal for an excess profit tax. Winkel questioned the tax’s rationale, noting that Klingbeil failed to define the distinction between a permissible profit and one that would qualify as excess, or which sectors the tax would apply to. Furthermore, Winkel raised concerns about the underlying principles, questioning whether Klingbeil also intended to offset significant losses using state tax money. The CDU chairman stressed that the proposal was what he termed “a procedural political suicide”. Winkel concluded by asserting that Lars Klingbeil had earned public criticism due to the misuse of the special fund, rather than Katherina Reiche.
Junge Union Boss Backs Reiche Against Coalition Rivals
