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Chancellery Minister Thorsten Frei Signals Openness to Revising Union–SPD Coalition Pact as Economy Worsens

Frei cites a deepening downturn to argue for flexibility in rewriting the governing pact.

Overview

  • In comments to RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland, Frei said he is open to a fundamental overhaul of the government’s coalition agreement to better address current conditions.
  • He argued the previous Ampel coalition held to its contract despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and said the lesson now is to act more flexibly.
  • Frei noted that some policy parameters are already underway but added that the weak economy may require stronger countermeasures.
  • BDI president Peter Leibinger recently described Germany’s economy as in free fall and the country’s worst crisis, a warning cited in the coverage.
  • No formal renegotiation has been launched or scheduled, while Merkur reports Frei also floated scaling back certain health benefits to rein in costs.