Coalition partners clash over Dobrindt's push to cut basic income rate as new welfare system nears launch

A contentious proposal

The debate was triggered by an interview Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt gave to Focus magazine on Wednesday. Dobrindt stated that the monthly standard rate for single recipients (currently 563 euros) "is too high" and should be reviewed. He cited massive cost increases from rate hikes during the previous legislative period and argued that a programme costing nearly 50 billion euros a year can make a decisive contribution to budget consolidation.

The standard rate should cover the subsistence minimum and nothing beyond that.

Dobrindt said he remains convinced that significantly more savings are possible than planned. The intervention comes just two weeks before the core of the 2025 reform enters into force.

Divided reactions within the Union

The proposal drew support from several Union MPs. CSU state group leader Alexander Hoffmann told the Rheinische Post that, in "the biggest reform phase in 20 years, everything must be on the table" and that the basic income programme should not be excluded from the outset. CDU social policy spokesman Marc Biadacz noted the coalition agreement already foresees changing the adjustment mechanism, to be newly regulated through an upcoming Basic Security II law. Johannes Winkel, head of the CDU youth wing, said Dobrindt "is right," arguing the benefit level, combined with covered rent, energy costs, and free services, leaves too little incentive to take up work.

Alexander Dobrindt is right. The level of Bürgergeld in combination with the assumption of rent and energy costs and numerous free offers means the incentive to take up work is clearly too low.

However, the proposal met fierce pushback from the CDU's own labour wing. CDA chairman Dennis Radtke told AFP that a call for blanket cuts is "not a helpful debate contribution" and quickly hits constitutional limits. He also criticised the CSU for simultaneously insisting on expanding the mothers' pension, a measure that would cost five billion euros a year. "To declare the mothers' pension sacrosanct while giving the impression that hidden treasures can be found in basic security is a remarkable political stunt," Radtke added. He stressed that christian-social policy does not reflexively cut at the weakest, but enables people to progress under their own steam.

SPD pushes back

The Social Democrats firmly rejected the demand. Bernd Rützel, SPD chair of the Bundestag social committee, told the Rheinische Post that Dobrindt should know from the election campaign that billions in savings cannot be achieved simply by reducing the rate. He said the larger savings would come from moving people into work, not from shaving a few euros off the benefit.

It's easy to say that taking a few euros away from people will make the economy hum again or that one can achieve significant savings. The reality is different.

The dispute arrives as Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) has repeatedly pressed ministries to find savings, and coalition leaders are expected to agree on a comprehensive reform programme in early July.

Broader social spending cuts and Wohngeld

Parallel to the Bürgergeld row, the government is restructuring housing benefit (Wohngeld), which affects 1.2 million recipients. Data cited by the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland show that over half of Wohngeld recipients (638,000) are pensioners, while about 10 per cent are single parents. The building ministry said the concrete effects of the planned one-billion-euro cut are still being assessed but ruled out "systematic worsening" for beneficiaries.

The new Grundsicherung from July 1

On 1 July, Bürgergeld will be replaced by a new basic income scheme (Grundsicherung) with tougher sanctions and prioritisation of job placement over qualification. The system was last adjusted in January 2024, when rates rose by roughly 12 per cent. Since then the monthly standard rate for singles has remained at 563 euros, though its real value has eroded. Coalition leaders plan to finalise a broader reform package in the days after the launch.