The criticism of the CDU’s proposals to trim the social state continues to rise in the SPD.
Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern’s minister‑premier Manuela Schwesig (SPD) told the German newspaper “Tagesspiegel” in its Tuesday edition that “I am horrified by the ever‑new attacks from the Union on the social state and on the cohesion in Germany”.

She said most employees give “full effort every day” and only go to a doctor when they truly are ill. “It appears that some people in the Union have lost contact with the working world” she added.

Schwesig condemned the CDU’s Economic Council’s suggestion to privatise dental costs as “completely unacceptable”. She warned that people should not avoid dental visits out of fear of a bill and insisted that healthy teeth should not depend on one’s wallet.