When Christian Lindner enters the large lecture hall of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, he draws everyone's attention.

About 100 students from the private university came to discuss pension schemes and stocks with him.

It's a home game for the FDP chairman on the last gray day of January.

Felix Black

volunteer

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While Lindner is walking down the stairs, his employees are already playing a commercial from the Federal Ministry of Finance.

He nods to the beat of the music, the bass vibrates.

"It's great to finally be back at a university," says the Federal Minister of Finance.

He says smugly how much he missed the "battle in the hall" with his favorite opponents from left-wing university groups.

He need not fear any fundamental debates this afternoon.

Because: "You will all pay the top tax rate," he points to the audience and smiles: "I see a lot of customers."

With a short philosophical lecture about the alleged “belief in the state” of the Germans, Lindner talks himself into a rage.

It was only when moderator Najima El Moussaoui intervened that he came up with his actual reform project.

Behind the idea of ​​“generational capital” propagated by the FDP is a fund managed by a public foundation.

This is to be gradually filled, above all with the help of government loans, and to achieve the highest possible returns – with the aim of stabilizing the statutory pension insurance system.

Too little capital?

In 15 years, Lindner wants to put a total of 150 billion euros into the fund, and only after this savings phase should the income go to the pension fund.

This means that net returns of 3 to 4 percent are possible, and in the end the fund is worth a “significant three-digit billion euro amount”.

Olaf Stotz, Professor of Asset Management and Pension Economics, objects: "The capital employed is far too low to significantly relieve the statutory pension insurance." It needs at least 30 billion per year.

Hardly anyone expresses fundamental criticism of the model.

However, a student asks whether all employees, including the self-employed, civil servants and politicians, should pay into the statutory pension insurance.

But because these groups of people are also affected by aging, this proposal does not solve the problem, says Lindner.

More skilled migration of young people is the better option.

At the end, after about 40 minutes, he receives thunderous applause.

Students line up to take a selfie with him.

The minister grants her wish with benevolence.

But if Lindner really wants to convince the capital market skeptics within the population, events with potential top tax rate payers will not be enough.