North Rhine-Westphalia Premier Hendrik Wüst (CDU) has expressed disappointment regarding the lack of detailed agreements reached in Berlin by the governing coalition concerning financial relief for municipalities.
Speaking to the “Rheinische Post” Wüst acknowledged the Coalition Committee’s reaffirmation of the federal government’s responsibility in resolving the issue of municipalities’ long-standing debts. However, he stated that “unfortunately, there has been no progress on the matter.
Wüst emphasized the need to empower heavily indebted municipalities to effectively utilize funds from the special fund to alleviate the backlog of municipal investments. He argued that a reliable path out of debt is crucial, as severely burdened municipalities lack the financial capacity to plan and execute essential infrastructure projects such as school renovations, kindergarten improvements and hospital upgrades.
“The issue of long-standing debts is about trust in politics and the ability of the state to act at the local level” Wüst added. He urged Finance Minister Klingbeil to fulfill the federal government’s commitment before the North Rhine-Westphalian municipal elections, the largest regional election in Europe with approximately 14 million eligible voters, which he believes will serve as an early indicator of public sentiment towards the new federal government.
Wüst cautioned that unmet promises from the governing parties could lead to electoral success for populist and extremist movements, particularly in the Ruhr region. He reiterated that during intergovernmental negotiations, the coalition had pledged to consult on the concrete implementation of the long-standing debt relief measures.
“I expect the Federal Finance Minister to now promptly make up for this and present concrete outlines for this. Clarity and binding commitments for the municipalities are needed before the end of the summer break” Wüst concluded.