Lindner Says All German Ministries Must Help Close Budget Gap

(Bloomberg) -- German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said every ministry and all three parties in the country’s ruling coalition will have to propose expenditure cuts to help close a €20 billion ($21.5 billion) shortfall in next year’s budget.

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“The government is making intensive preparations,” the head of the business friendly Free Democrats said ahead of a budget committee hearing in the lower house of parliament on Wednesday.

“We will also present the exact path and the idea for a proposal to the Bundestag in a timely manner. This will be coordinated by the Finance Ministry, but all ministries and all three coalition partners will have to make their contributions to ensure that we succeed in meeting these goals.”

He added that budget consolidation on the backs of car drivers or the middle classes would not be fair.

Read More: Scholz Plots €20 Billion of Budget Cuts in Snub to Greens

Lindner and Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz are thrashing out a plan to close the 2024 budget gap with spending cuts in all departments except defense, people familiar with the plans have told Bloomberg, a move that risks angering the third member of the coalition: The Greens.

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