display
An economic summit is not only right, it is overdue.
The initially successful management of the pandemic has impressively shown how effective our democracy and its institutions are when they work together in a trusting manner.
Mistakes may have happened at one point or another, but there was still an overwhelming willingness to work together on all levels.
It is a pity that this cooperation did not last.
And in the area of economic policy, it is not the states alone that are responsible for this, but also Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier.
At the beginning of the pandemic, he encouraged the federal states to be generous with the emergency aid and above all to concentrate on a quick payout, the federal government would not let them sit on the costs.
There were countries like Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia that relied on the commitments, quickly paid out money without extensive audits and now run the risk of being left with a significant portion of their costs.
Corona crisis team - "It's about preventing a third wave as much as possible"
The city of Osnabrück offers free quick tests for all citizens and in Potsdam educators test themselves so that daycare centers can reopen.
For many, the rapid tests are a real source of hope - others warn.
Source: WORLD / Alina Quast
display
But there were also states, for example Rhineland-Palatinate, which acted very carefully and waited for the exact conditions of the federal government to then pay out on this basis.
They were criticized for being slower than others because they checked according to federal guidelines.
In retrospect, it has proven useful not to trust the verbal promises of the federal government, but to wait for the fine print from the Federal Minister of Economics.
Mr. Altmaier promises a lot and pays little, this painful and expensive experience was first made by the federal states, now the entrepreneurs are experiencing it directly.
Trust has been lost
Why is this so important in connection with the economic summit?
Because it makes it clear that the federal government did not behave responsibly, in solidarity and generously during the acute crisis.
Trust has been lost in the process.
And it is precisely this trust that is missing today.
display
With regard to the November aid, Mr. Altmaier wanted the federal states to make advance payments again.
But after the experiences made in spring 2020, they rejected the unison.
The federal government had to pay out the aid it had promised and designed itself, and it failed terribly.
No federal state has made such a mess with emergency aid as the federal government has made with the economic aid it has promised.
If the federal government had realistically evaluated the problems with emergency aid, it would have been clear in May what Peter Altmaier apparently only realized in November: It is his problem and he should have prepared for it.
An economic summit has become necessary because it is important to rebuild trust that has been willfully and carelessly destroyed.
If the federal and state governments watch each other suspiciously instead of working constructively together, nobody is helped.
Citizens rightly expect the state and politics to work together constructively during the crisis.
The overburdening of the federal government with administrative processes such as the disbursement of aid is obvious.
The example shows how much the government levels are dependent on each other.
display
The considerable delays in paying out economic aid are fatal because they aggravate the crisis.
Ludwig Erhard is assigned the quote that 50 percent of the economy is psychology.
Anyone can imagine what happens to the self-employed and entrepreneurs when they are deprived of their source of income, promised quick help and those months later still haven't fully reached their account.
Fears and despair are spreading and many who have taken courage in view of the promised aid will give up instead of watching their debts grow.
In a speech to the German Bundestag, the Chancellor emphasized that it is not the promise of aid that generates growth, but the flow of funds.
Your Minister of Economic Affairs obviously did not take these words too seriously.
His negligence in paying out the aid is also fatal for society.
Politicians never tire of demanding discipline and a sense of responsibility from the citizens.
They should keep their distance, observe hygiene rules, wear a mask, and the overwhelming majority of them do so in an extremely disciplined and responsible manner.
You are very aware of the seriousness of the situation.
And the federal government?
If they fail to provide sufficient vaccine, they fail to pay out promised aid in a reasonable time and promise the blue of the sky.
This creates the fatal impression that it is easier for the state to overwhelm its citizens with ever new, ever more complicated regulations than to do its own tasks.
These are the experiences in which people lose confidence in the state.
The economic summit is an opportunity to return to cooperation between the federal and state governments.
It is an opportunity for Mr. Altmaier to rebuild the trust that had been destroyed so that the federal government and the states pull together as in the spring.
His latest attempt to blame the countries for the current chaos in economic aid was again the summit in preparation for the summit!
The author is Secretary General of the FDP as well as Minister of Economics and Deputy Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate.