“Prerequisite for everything else”
Merz is putting the pedal to the metal on economic reforms
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A new Bundestag will be elected in six weeks. And the CDU is promising voters a large economic package if it takes over government. An “Agenda 2030” is intended to get Germany back on track – and relieve the burden on many people.
In view of stagnating poll numbers, the CDU led by Union Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz is starting the hot phase leading up to the federal election with an “Agenda 2030” for more growth. The fact that the economy gets going again is a “prerequisite for everything else,” said the CDU leader before the start of his party's board meeting in Hamburg. Merz wants to fight for even greater approval in the six weeks until the election.
“We can only have a good social policy in Germany with a healthy economy,” said Merz. This also applies to environmental policy. The goal is two percent growth. “It's ambitious, but it can be achieved if, above all, we re-create some basic requirements.” In the evening, the CDU board unanimously approved a paper for an “Agenda 2030”, which aims, among other things, at tax reform, a more flexible labor market and lower energy prices.
Tax reform from 2026
Specifically, the CDU is proposing a tax reform in four annual steps, starting at the beginning of 2026. The income tax burden should decrease, the top tax rate only applies from 80,000 euros, and the basic tax allowance should increase annually. Overtime pay should be tax-free for full-time employment. For pensioners who continue to work voluntarily, up to 2,000 euros per month should remain tax-free. The solidarity surcharge should be abolished completely and citizens' money should be converted into a “new basic security”.
Secretary General Carsten Linnemann said that the core of the tax plans was to relieve the burden on the broad middle, lower and middle incomes. Merz said that with the “Agenda 2030” they had consciously chosen an association with the “Agenda 2010” of the then Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. What Schröder did with the reforms 20 years ago was “essentially right”.
According to expert estimates, the economy probably contracted slightly again last year. For 2025, the Expert Council of “Economists” has forecast an increase of just 0.4 percent.
Trade unions warn against CDU agenda
The German Federation of Trade Unions warned against a backwards role. “The CDU is not solving the challenges of the time with its agenda,” said DGB board member Stefan Körzell. “The threat to introduce weekly instead of daily maximum working hours in the future is nothing other than an attack on employees.” The President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Marcel Fratzscher, said the agenda contains clever elements. But growth of two percent is illusory.
The CDU is starting the month and a half until election day with a huge lead. According to the current figures collected by Forsa for the RTL/ntv trend barometer, the Union is at 32 percent. But that is not enough for party leader Merz. “We undoubtedly still have potential for improvement, but that’s what an election campaign is for,” said Merz. “The election campaign begins now, and at the end of the election campaign the totals will be added up.” There is a bit of rumbling in the Union after Merz held back on public appearances over the Christmas period and over the New Year.
Schleswig-Holstein's Prime Minister Daniel Günther said: “The less we worry about the time after the election, the more we talk about how we can get the best possible election result, the better.” He doesn't see an open flank in social policy. “But I believe that the Union would be well advised to always pursue a two-pronged approach.” It is also about generating growth in order to strengthen cohesion.
Shortly before the exam, Merz was shown a fireboat in the port of Hamburg. He drove with a barge to the headquarters of the company VB-Group, which was founded in 2021. The company, which has around 30 employees, specializes in design and plant engineering services in energy generation as well as in shipyard and ship operations technology. In a café, Merz also met a group of 25 elected representatives and candidates for the federal election and the Hamburg state election.