After more than four hours of talks in the coalition committee on Wednesday evening, the Union and the SPD set themselves against all political extremism. The statement came as a joint message from the caucus leaders Frei, Miersch and Hoffmann to the members of parliament. It speaks of a historic test for democracy. On the reforms, the coalition committed to swift implementation without a timetable; the word reform does not appear. Merz does not consider full implementation by Christmas feasible and hopes for spring 2027; he expects a cabinet decision on pensions by the end of the year. The SPD rejects, among other things, the abolition of pensions without deductions after 45 years of contributions. On Thursday the Bundestag debated the 2027 income tax reform for the first time: gross relief of roughly ten billion euros in 2027 and 2028, additional revenue of 4.3 billion euros, start on January 1, 2027. Klingbeil defended it; the Union first demands draft laws from Labor Minister Bas and calls the relief too small. The bills went to the committees.
After the state elections and the vote in Magdeburg, the coalition has lost a lot of trust. That it agrees on extremism but not on a timetable shows where the unity ends.
For employees with middle incomes, the tax reform is the concrete part: Klingbeil’s example family is meant to have 600 euros more a year. At the same time, it depends on whether the Union and the SPD agree on pensions and the labor market.
The coalition is acting: tax relief is on its way, a joint sentence against extremism matters, and timetables are never kept anyway.
A committee that meets for four hours and names no date has decided nothing. The Union blocks, the SPD brakes, the chancellor hopes for spring.
The word that is missing is “reform.” What matters is whether the Union actually ties the tax reform to Bas’s laws. Then the fight begins in committee, not in the plenary.
Tagesschau · Handelsblatt · Zeit · FAZ · Spiegel · WirtschaftsWoche · ms-aktuell · ad-hoc-news (all Oct. 7–8) · Union’s blocking threat in only one source · wording of the statement not verified
After four hours of coalition committee talks: a joint pledge against extremism, but no timetable for the reforms
The Union and the SPD see democracy facing a “historic test.” In the Bundestag, Finance Minister Klingbeil defended the tax reform the same day; the Union ties its approval to laws on pensions and the labor market.
After more than four hours of talks on Wednesday evening, the Union and the SPD have set themselves against every form of political extremism. This emerges from a joint statement to the members of parliament by the caucus leaders Thorsten Frei (CDU/CSU), Matthias Miersch (SPD) and Alexander Hoffmann (CSU regional group). Democracy faces a historic test, it says. On the planned reforms, the coalition committed to swift implementation but presented no timetable; the word “reform” does not appear in the statement. Merz had said beforehand that full implementation of the July package by Christmas could not be managed, and he hopes for spring 2027. He expects a cabinet decision on pensions by the end of the year. The SPD rejects the planned abolition of pensions without deductions after 45 years of contributions.
On Thursday the Bundestag began the first reading of the 2027 income tax reform. Klingbeil called the draft a fair balance: citizens with small and middle incomes are to be relieved by roughly ten billion euros gross in 2027 and 2028, against additional revenue of 4.3 billion euros; the so-called rich tax (Reichensteuer) kicks in somewhat earlier for very high incomes. As an example he cited a family with two children and two middle incomes, who are meant to have about 600 euros more each year. The Union demands that Labor Minister Bärbel Bas first present draft laws on the labor market and pensions, and criticizes that the relief does not even offset bracket creep. The drafts went to the committees; nothing has been decided.