Additional requests in the billions: Finance Minister Lindner does not want to go into that. He also teases against a project of the chancellery.
In the budget dispute of the traffic light coalition, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner demanded that “in the area of government in the narrower sense” positions and other projects be put to the test. The FDP chairman said on Wednesday evening in the ARD program “Maischberger”: “I believe that in times of more home office and location-flexible work, a new building next to the chancellery that costs at least 800 million is unnecessary.”
Lindner was obviously referring to the planned expansion of the Chancellery. According to information from government circles in September, 777 million euros were estimated for this.
Lindner: “That’s my job”
According to Lindner, 65 percent of the Ministry of Finance now works from a flexible location. “That means the colleagues can work from home, while on the go, and they use it too.” But it also follows that office space can be used differently and limited. “So why such an expensive new building?” asked Lindner. Referring to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), he added: “I think he will be displeased that I’ve suggested this here, but that’s my job.”
The construction project was initiated by the government under Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2020. The Chancellery justified the construction with an acute lack of offices. “So that all employees can work at one location again, an extension is to be built – with 400 offices, a new helicopter landing platform and a postal and logistics area,” says the website.
Since the original building was designed for a maximum of 460 jobs, more than 200 employees had to move to other buildings outside of the Chancellor Park. The aim of the extension building is to bring all employees together again.
Lindner originally wanted to present key figures for the 2024 budget on Wednesday. However, he canceled the appointment because he could not agree with his colleagues. The ministers had announced additional requests of around 70 billion euros. The Minister of Finance sees no leeway for these if the debt brake is to be adhered to and tax increases are to be dispensed with.
