“Family policy must not become a quarry for short-term budget consolidation, but must remain reliable and predictable,” SPD deputy parliamentary group leader Dagmar Schmidt told Spiegel. Schmidt, who is responsible for family policy, emphasized: “Blanket cuts must be avoided at all costs.” Her criticism is directed at Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU), who has to save half a billion euros – practically only from parental allowance, the largest item in her budget at 7.5 billion euros.
But Schmidt’s words also hit her own Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD). He had obliged Prien to make billions in savings to plug budget holes. The 2027 budget draft already provides for 350 million euros less for parental allowance. Prien hopes to achieve this sum automatically through falling birth rates – but the Finance Ministry doubts its feasibility. Moreover, Prien had already planned this saving in April, according to SPD circles; now further cuts are needed.
CDU Secretary General Carsten Linnemann warned on Thursday: “Hands off parental allowance!” The SPD sees this as a broadside against Klingbeil, since the savings proposal was jointly decided at the coalition committee. The Social Democrats accuse the Union of hypocrisy: they constantly talk about subsidy cuts but back down when it comes to concrete measures.
EuroPulse reported on May 20, 2026, about the government questioning of Klingbeil and Hubertz in the Bundestag (https://europulse.today/regierungsbefragung-klingbeil-hubertz-bundestag/).
Source: www.spiegel.de
