FDP general secretary wants to drop "trust time".

FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai wants a correction to the so-called trust period in the dispute over the design of citizen income. “If we want to achieve a joint solution on the issue of citizen income, then everyone has to move. And not only the Union has to move, but also when it comes to sanctions, trust time, the SPD and the Greens also have to move here, ”said Djir-Sarai on Monday after a Liberal presidium meeting in Berlin. He advocated dropping the trust period – during which there should be practically no sanctions.

In all discussions in the country, he experienced that many people had a feeling of disturbance "according to the motto that the issue of performance justice is not sufficiently taken into account here either," said Djir-Sarai. And: "I share this view." When it comes to sanctions, urgent work needs to be done. This is a very important point for a solution.

The child protection association and the left have also appealed to the traffic light government and the Union to settle their dispute over the new citizens' income. Child Protection Association President Heinz Hilgers told the editorial network Germany (RND) that the "games" had to be ended. "A lack of agreement would primarily harm families and children," he said. The parliamentary group leader of the left in the Bundestag, Amira Mohamed Ali, told the "Rheinische Post": "This gossip theater must finally stop." It is an indictment that traffic light parties and the Union "not even with these minimal improvements for those affected by Hartz IV". could agree.

Citizens' income is intended to replace the current Hartz IV system. It failed in the Bundesrat due to resistance from state governments led or involved by the Union. From the point of view of the CDU and CSU, those affected are granted too much protection. In addition, they would have to fear too few sanctions for breaches of duty. The mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat should find a compromise next Wednesday. According to the will of the Federal Government, the Federal Council should pass the law on Friday so that the new citizens' income can come as planned at the beginning of the year.

The Union recently made its position clear again. CDU deputy leader Carsten Linnemann called for a fundamental change in the social reform plans of the red-green-yellow federal government. “Citizen’s income is about a directional decision. If the direction of the traffic light coalition does not change, a compromise will not succeed," he told RND. The principle of promoting and demanding must also be retained in the case of citizen income. "Otherwise, in my opinion, there will be no agreement."

Child Protection Association President Hilgers called for a general ban on sanctions for families with children. “Most of the time, the sanctions don’t affect those who sit at the train station with a beer bottle in the morning. Children suffer the most from the sanctions,” he told RND. "It should generally be forbidden for families with children to receive financial sanctions." He also warned that the traffic light coalition's plans for basic child security should be implemented quickly. Without these, two to three children remain a risk of poverty for a family in which the father is a taxi driver and the mother is a hairdresser, said Hilgers. These families would have to top up or struggle with bureaucratic applications for housing benefit and child benefit.

Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) recently said that she wanted to present key points for basic child security in January – the draft law should then be in place by the end of 2023. The traffic light government wants to bundle various family benefits such as child benefit in the new basic child security. There should be an income-independent guaranteed amount for all children and young people.

SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert has shown himself optimistic about a breakthrough in the dispute over the planned citizens' allowance this week. "We believe that this will work this week," said Kühnert on Monday after SPD committee deliberations in Berlin. According to Kühnert, the SPD does not want to believe that there is no political majority for the planned social reform. "Millions of people are waiting here in this society," said Kühnert. This affects the unemployed and job center employees. That's why he assumes that practical reason will prevail when political practitioners discuss it.