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Budapest Times
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Budapest Times
Orbán: Remaining free today, too, requires courage
Marking the day of the 1956 martyrs, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Monday that to remain free today, too, requires courage. In a video posted on Facebook, PM Orbán referred to a speech he gave at the reburial of Imre Nagy and his fellow martyrs on June 16, 1989. 'In 1989, the Russians had to be sent home so we could be free,' he declared. 'It took great courage back then, and it takes courage today, too, to remain free. Empires come and go; we will not run away.' PM Orbán noted that in 1989, it had been suggested to him that, having given a big speech on March 15, he should not speak at the reburial since a political party's strength 'should not depend on one person'. But the confutation was that the speech may go down well in front of a crowd of 200,000-300,000 and it may be the last chance 'to say important things, seriously meant, to the country and to the world'. PM Orbán said he and his companions at the time were considered young for politics. But when democracy was new, 'everyone was the same age', he added. He said the text of his planned speech was reviewed by an editor of the Szazadveg periodical who suggested Orban bow his head to the martyrs. In the end, he said, he made a longer speech that he wrote together with Laszlo Kover, the current speaker of parliament. PM Orbán said he refused a request by Gyorgy Litvan, a historian, to see the speech in advance, though he revealed to him his intention to urge 'the Russians to go home'. Litvan expressed reservations about this and wondered whether such a declaration may be premature. Also, he had problems with the speech's length of seven minutes. PM Orbán said he then consulted with Kover, who dismissed Litvan's concerns, arguing they had written a good speech and they should just get on with it. The prime minister noted that Imre Nagy and the other martyrs were communists, so it was necessary to explain why Fidesz were present at his reburial. In this light, the sentence in his speech on the incompatibility of democracy and communism had been necessary, he added. After the reburial, PM Orbán organised a conversation with Janos Kis, a philosopher and founder of the Free Democrats, who argued that urging the withdrawal of the Russians had been a mistake, though in the end he conceded that Fidesz may well prove to be right so long as the Czechoslovak and East German governments were toppled in the autumn. PM Orbán said there had been 'a big communist campaign' against them because they considered the speech disrespectful. He said that as soon as the authorities admitted they had murdered the 1956 martyrs, the communist system in Hungary fell. It was obvious that Nagy had been a victim, he said, so Janos Kadar, who led the Communist Party later on, 'was probably a murderer'. This moment, he added, was not just a regime change but the point of the system's moral failure.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German lawmaker in hot water over talks with Russian representatives
A Social Democrat lawmaker in Germany has been forced to defend himself against criticism for taking a trip to Azerbaijan for talks with Russian representatives, which came to light after a media investigation. "One of the principles of good foreign policy is that, even and especially in difficult times of increasing tensions, conflicts and wars, dialogue contacts in all parts of the world and also with Russia should be maintained," Ralf Stegner wrote in a joint statement with three former members of the parliament on Friday. German media had reported on the trip to Baku which Stegner and others took on April 14. Stegner told dpa that he was surprised at the polemical reaction, which had "no grounds." "It's important to have contact for there to be any dialogue at all," he said. Stegner stressed that he did not go as a government representative, but a freely elected member of parliament. It was "based on private initiative and organized and financed informally," he said. No sensitive security information or even secret information was exchanged, he said. The deputy chairman of the parliament's intelligence oversight panel, conservative Roderich Kiesewetter, told reporters previously that Stegner "would have to face some questions" on the visit. A senior politician from the liberal Free Democrats, Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, demanded that Stegner be should not be allowed to remain a member of the oversight panel.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New German finance minister Klingbeil is champion of higher defence spending
By Maria Martinez BERLIN (Reuters) -Lars Klingbeil, Germany's next vice chancellor and finance minister, is an experienced Social Democrat lawmaker who has sat in parliament for more than 15 years, but his area of expertise has been in defence rather than finance. Now, as guardian of Germany's public finances, Klingbeil, 47, will oversee a massive expansion in defence spending after a decision of Germany's outgoing government - in the face of heavy U.S. pressure and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine - to remove military investments from rules that cap borrowing. Germany's parliament approved in March plans for a huge spending surge which also includes a 500 billion euro ($568 billion) special fund for infrastructure, casting aside decades of fiscal conservatism in hopes of reviving economic growth. Klingbeil had long called for reform of the so-called 'debt brake', which restricts public borrowing, saying Germany was "on the completely wrong path". This contrasts with the view of his predecessor at the finance ministry, fiscal hawk Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats, whose fierce defence of the debt brake played a crucial role in the break-up of the previous SPD-led coalition. The centre-left SPD on Wednesday formally backed the new coalition led by conservative Friedrich Merz, opening the way for it to be sworn in next Tuesday. The SPD will formally nominate Klingbeil for finance minister on Monday. His SPD colleague Boris Pistorius will stay on as defence minister. Known for his charismatic personality and strong communication skills, Klingbeil is seen as a rising star within the SPD and a potential future chancellor. He has been party co-leader over the past four years with Saskia Esken. CAUTION Klingbeil played a key role in the negotiations with Merz's CDU/CSU conservative bloc in reaching the coalition agreement, but has been cautious so far in his public statements about the economy and how he will tackle his new job. "Everything is subject to financing," he said in a recent TV interview while discussing the new coalition's ambitious public spending plans. In a separate interview for newspapers of the Funke media group, Klingbeil said money must be spent "sensibly and effectively in the interests of citizens and the economy". His first major task will be to present a draft budget for 2025, which has been delayed by the snap February election in which the SPD won just 16% of the vote, behind Merz's conservatives and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). The son of a soldier, Klingbeil became a member of the defence committee at the Bundestag in 2009 and witnessed the effects of underinvestment in the armed forces of his country that Merz has vowed to end in an era when Europe can no longer automatically rely on the United States' security guarantee. Klingbeil was born into a working-class family in Soltau in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. He is an avid supporter of FC Bayern soccer team and played in a punk rock band "Sleeping Silence" in his youth. As a former chairman of the Young Socialists in his state, he is keen to modernise the SPD and make it more attractive to younger voters, and has focused within the party on issues such as climate change, social justice and income inequality. "I want to work as parliamentary group leader and as party leader to ensure that many young faces are also publicly visible," Klingbeil said after the February election. As well as managing Germany's state finances and continuing to co-lead his party, Klingbeil will face a further challenge in trying to blunt the increasing appeal of the anti-immigration AfD party, which he says is a "threat to democracy". ($1 = 0.8801 euros)
Reuters
30-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
New German finance minister Klingbeil is champion of higher defence spending
Summary New finance minister to scale up military spending in Germany Klingbeil offers sharp contrast to predecessor on 'debt brake' Played key role in negotiations to form new coalition Budget for 2025 will be his first big challenge BERLIN, April 30 (Reuters) - Lars Klingbeil, Germany's next vice chancellor and finance minister, is an experienced Social Democrat lawmaker who has sat in parliament for more than 15 years, but his area of expertise has been in defence rather than finance. Now, as guardian of Germany's public finances, Klingbeil, 47, will oversee a massive expansion in defence spending after a decision of Germany's outgoing government - in the face of heavy U.S. pressure and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine - to remove military investments from rules that cap borrowing. Germany's parliament approved in March plans for a huge spending surge which also includes a 500 billion euro ($568 billion) special fund for infrastructure, casting aside decades of fiscal conservatism in hopes of reviving economic growth. Klingbeil had long called for reform of the so-called 'debt brake', which restricts public borrowing, saying Germany was "on the completely wrong path". This contrasts with the view of his predecessor at the finance ministry, fiscal hawk Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats, whose fierce defence of the debt brake played a crucial role in the break-up of the previous SPD-led coalition. The centre-left SPD on Wednesday formally backed the new coalition led by conservative Friedrich Merz, opening the way for it to be sworn in next Tuesday. The SPD will formally nominate Klingbeil for finance minister on Monday. His SPD colleague Boris Pistorius will stay on as defence minister. Known for his charismatic personality and strong communication skills, Klingbeil is seen as a rising star within the SPD and a potential future chancellor. He has been party co-leader over the past four years with Saskia Esken. CAUTION Klingbeil played a key role in the negotiations with Merz's CDU/CSU conservative bloc in reaching the coalition agreement, but has been cautious so far in his public statements about the economy and how he will tackle his new job. "Everything is subject to financing," he said in a recent TV interview while discussing the new coalition's ambitious public spending plans. In a separate interview for newspapers of the Funke media group, Klingbeil said money must be spent "sensibly and effectively in the interests of citizens and the economy". His first major task will be to present a draft budget for 2025, which has been delayed by the snap February election in which the SPD won just 16% of the vote, behind Merz's conservatives and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). The son of a soldier, Klingbeil became a member of the defence committee at the Bundestag in 2009 and witnessed the effects of underinvestment in the armed forces of his country that Merz has vowed to end in an era when Europe can no longer automatically rely on the United States' security guarantee. Klingbeil was born into a working-class family in Soltau in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. He is an avid supporter of FC Bayern soccer team and played in a punk rock band "Sleeping Silence" in his youth. As a former chairman of the Young Socialists in his state, he is keen to modernise the SPD and make it more attractive to younger voters, and has focused within the party on issues such as climate change, social justice and income inequality. "I want to work as parliamentary group leader and as party leader to ensure that many young faces are also publicly visible," Klingbeil said after the February election. As well as managing Germany's state finances and continuing to co-lead his party, Klingbeil will face a further challenge in trying to blunt the increasing appeal of the anti-immigration AfD party, which he says is a "threat to democracy". ($1 = 0.8801 euros)
Reuters
26-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
German top court upholds reunification tax
KARLSRUHE, Germany, March 26 (Reuters) - Germany's Constitutional Court on Wednesday upheld an additional tax shouldered by certain taxpayers and many companies first introduced in the 1990s to smooth out the differences between East and West following reunification. The 'solidarity surcharge' remains in place today - albeit in a narrower form - angering economically liberal lawmakers. Last year, the surcharge, which amounts to 5.5% of income and corporation tax, contributed around 12.6 billion euros ($13.6 billion) to German government coffers. The reunification of Germany in 1990 brought with it a major economic project to bring the communist regions of the east in line with their western neighbours, a goal that by some standards has still not been reached: today, incomes are generally lower in the east and unemployment is higher. The six plaintiffs that challenged the solidarity tax in court, all members of the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), say it violates the constitution because the 'solidarity pact' that it was part of, designed to split the costs of reunification, expired in 2019. They also take issue with the fact that since 2021 some 90% of taxpayers have been exempt, which they consider a violation of the principle of equal treatment. ($1 = 0.9243 euros)
