A leader of the Young Union, Johannes Winkel, has called on the likely coalition partners CDU/CSU and SPD to reintroduce a general parental benefit. He told the Welt, “Take back the parental benefit, dear grand coalition.”
Winkel lamented that the feeling is spreading among the young generation that politics is not made for young people and families. “It’s just bubbling over. Why? Because it’s the feeling that politics gives money for everything and quite considerable sums, but what is the project for the young generation? We’re giving over 5 billion more a year for a new mother’s pension. That’s something for every person. But where does the politics take action for the young generation?”
The parental benefit for higher earners was already abolished by the grand coalition government, allegedly to save money, Winkel claimed. Now, the coalition negotiations are discussing a fundamental abandonment of the parental benefit. Winkel compared the parental benefit to the mother’s pension, saying, “It’s not a very expensive project, with a volume of around 250 million euros a year. Now we’re spending 5 billion euros a year on the new mother’s pension.”
Furthermore, a general parental benefit would also have a signaling effect, according to the Young Union leader. “It would be a sign of justice if at least the parental benefit were taken back as a sign: ‘We support the young generation! We support young families that have the courage to start a family in these times.’ And that would be an extremely important signal for the young generation in Germany.