Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer has sided with young Union politicians in the pension dispute. He describes the current pension policy as exacerbating the problem and attributes responsibility to the CSU and SPD. The Young Union threatens to block the pension package.
In the ongoing pension dispute in Germany, CDU deputy and Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer has clearly sided with the party's young politicians. In an interview with the Funke Media Group, he stated: «The current pension policy enlarges the problem.» Kretschmer pointed to the responsibility of the coalition partners: «The CSU pushed through the higher mother's pension in the coalition negotiations, and ending the pension at 63 was not possible with the SPD.»
The young group within the Union parliamentary faction in the Bundestag is threatening to block the passage of the planned pension package. Their main criticism targets the anticipated billion-euro follow-up costs that could arise from stabilizing the pension level after 2031. This issue is at the center of the Young Union's (JU) Germany Day this weekend, where Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected.
In an interview with the German Press Agency (dpa), JU Chairman Johannes Winkel made it clear that the Young Union will reject the pension package in the Bundestag if no changes are made. The debate highlights tensions within the Union regarding the long-term sustainability of the pension system reform.