(de-news.net) – In the German Bundestag, federal lawmaker Johannes Winkel and the CDU/CSU’s Young Group are pressuring the coalition to carry out its agreed-upon pension reforms without reopening the compromise. At the same time, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) is being urged by Volker Bouffier (CDU) to expedite more extensive reforms in order to fortify the Union parties’ position within the government coalition and preserve the firewall against the AfD.
Johannes Winkel, the recently appointed deputy chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, has called for the pension package agreed upon by Germany’s governing coalition to be implemented in full. The reform should proceed, he argued, because it was agreed upon by Chancellor Merz and Labor Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) after the pension commission, which included parliamentary participation, had unanimously endorsed the proposals. For Winkel, the agreement also raises a broader issue of reliability within the governing coalition: negotiated compromises must be treated as binding commitments on which coalition partners can depend. He further characterized the package as socially equitable.
A central element of the reform, Winkel said, should be a return to what he regards as the original purpose of the so-called pension at 63: providing protection for people whose working lives have involved particularly strenuous physical labor. The provision has become a point of contention within the coalition, with parts of the SPD questioning changes that would phase out early retirement for people with especially long contribution records. Winkel pointed to another element of the coalition agreement intended to provide protection for workers who can no longer remain employed because of health-related limitations. Under the agreement, people with 45 years of contributions would receive access to a new pension without deductions.
Young Group seeks to hold coalition to pension deal
The CDU/CSU parliamentary group’s Young Group has also rejected demands from some conservatives and SPD members to reopen the coalition compromise on the pension at 63. CDU lawmaker Johannes Reddig argued that the recent state elections should not be interpreted as a direct vote on pension reform. Instead, he said, the results reflected a broader sense of dissatisfaction with the federal government and its performance.
The pension issue itself, Reddig maintained, had already been settled through an agreement designed to implement the recommendations of the pension commission. The coalition’s partners therefore needed to adhere to what they had agreed rather than reopen the issue, he said, warning that repeated changes of course could further undermine confidence in political commitments.
Reddig also called for meaningful relief for citizens through lower taxes and social contributions, placing the pension debate within a wider discussion about the financial burden on households. In a separate appearance, Chancellery Minister Karin Warken (CDU), at the same time, underscored the need for comprehensive and ambitious reforms. Her remarks added to the broader pressure within the governing coalition for decisions on several policy areas rather than prolonged negotiations over individual measures.
Bouffier calls for faster decisions and coalition discipline
Against this backdrop, Bouffier, the former premier of Hesse, urged Merz to complete four major projects by Christmas: the federal budget and reforms involving health insurance, pensions and long-term care. Bouffier argued that restoring public confidence in the CDU/CSU would require the government to move beyond discussion and reach concrete decisions. In his view, the ability to settle major policy questions would be central to demonstrating that the government could act on its stated priorities.
Bouffier also pressed Merz to take a firmer approach toward the SPD within the coalition. The Union, he argued, was clearly the stronger parliamentary force and that relative strength should be visible in the government’s political direction. At the same time, he said the SPD should not be allowed to repeatedly reopen matters that had already been discussed and agreed upon. Faster decision-making, in his assessment, would therefore need to accompany a clearer assertion of the Union’s position within the coalition.
On the broader political configuration, Bouffier rejected proposals to end the coalition with the SPD and instead govern through a minority government. He also defended the political firewall against the AfD while arguing that policymakers should nevertheless address the concerns of people who vote for the party. Bouffier said those voters should not all be treated as far-right, emphasizing instead that some were motivated by dissatisfaction with the political options that had previously been available to them. His position thus combined support for maintaining the existing barrier against cooperation with the AfD with an argument for greater attention to its electorate.
Bouffier also addressed the difficult process of forming a government in Saxony-Anhalt, saying he could envisage a form of cooperation between the CDU and the Left similar to consultation arrangements already operating between the two parties in Thuringia and Saxony. Such an approach, he suggested, could provide a possible model under different regional circumstances. He stressed that political conditions had to be assessed locally rather than through a uniform national approach. As a contrast, he referred to Berlin, where he said he would not accept becoming head of government with the support of members of the Left Party whom he characterized as antisemitic.
