Merkel’s CDU promises full employment by 2025

Berlin, July 3 

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Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives promised Germany more police, more homes and full employment within eight years, as they presented their programme on Monday for an election in which she will seek a fourth term in office.

With Europe’s biggest economy growing robustly, Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), have made assurances that they will not raise taxes and will invest more.

As the countdown to the September 24 ballot continues, they hold a clear opinion poll lead over the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) but would still need to team up with another party to govern.

On Monday they added the goal of full employment, which they define as a jobless rate of less than 3 per cent, by 2025 to their list of campaign pledges.

“We think we can do this,” Merkel told a news conference with CSU leader Horst Seehofer convened to present the election programme.

Germany’s jobless rate is currently at a post-reunification low of 5.5 per cent, and a level of 3 per cent has not been seen since the “Economic Miracle” boom of the mid-1970s.

The conservative parties also want to add 1.5 million homes during the next parliamentary term, and expand Germany’s broadband network. On foreign policy, Merkel said they want a ‘Marshall Plan’ with Africa.

They also said they are prepared to work with the new French government to develop the euro zone step by step, but oppose a mutualisation of debts.

The CDU/CSU are polling around 40 per cent, some 16 percentage point ahead of the SPD, their current coalition partner. — Reuters

Policy pledges for Germany’s Sept 24 national poll

Tax and finance

• No new debts
• Reduction in income tax by some 15 billion euros ($17 billion) per year
• Threshold for the top tax rate to be raised to 60,000 euros from 54,000 euros
• Germany and France should seek to harmonise corporate tax rates

Foreign policy

• “Marshall Plan” with Africa
• Reject full EU membership for Turkey
• Increase spending on development aid and defence budget in 1:1 ratio

Economy & investment

• Full employment by 2025, defined by a jobless rate of less than 3 per cent
• Construction of 1.5 million homes during the next parliamentary term
• Raise research and development spending to 3.5 per cent/GDP by 2025 from 3 per cent now

Security

• Support an EU defence union
• Increase the number of police nationally by 15,000 
• Video surveillance to be increased

Family

• Increase child benefits by 25 euros per child per month 
• Tax-free allowance for families with children in two stages, with the first step worth 4 billion euros 
• A right to full-day care for primary school children, with government contributing to the costs