BERLIN, November 7. /TASS/. Jorg Kukies, State Secretary in the office of Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Social Democratic Party of Germany, SPD), is set to take over as head of Germany's Finance Ministry, following Scholz's decision to request the resignation of the current finance minister, Christian Lindner (Free Democratic Party, FDP), on November 6, amid disagreements over strategies to address the country's economic crisis, according to sources cited by DPA.
The agency says that Kukies is considered one of Chancellor Scholz's top advisers. As State Secretary, he has advised the chancellor on economic and financial matters and negotiated the final documents for the G7 and G20 summits on Scholz's behalf.
An acute political crisis has erupted in Germany due to disagreements within the ruling coalition over budgetary, financial, and economic policies. Key issues of concern include further aid to Kiev and the potential weakening of the debt brake rule, which restricts the government from spending more than it receives in revenue. On Wednesday, Chancellor Scholz decided to send Finance Minister Lindner into retirement. Scholz also announced that he would call for a vote of confidence in his government in the Bundestag early next year, with early parliamentary elections likely to take place before the end of March 2025.
On November 1, Lindner presented a blueprint for addressing Germany's economic crisis. In the 18-page document, he proposed measures that contradict the approaches favored by other coalition partners. Reuters noted that many viewed Lindner's proposals as a challenge to the multi-billion-dollar investment plan recently introduced by Economy Minister Robert Habeck (The Greens). While Habeck aims to establish a fund to stimulate investment, bypassing Germany’s strict budget spending rules, Lindner advocates for tax cuts to stimulate the economy and the immediate repeal of all new regulations.