Coalition tears itself apart over planned BAföG increase in dispute

The coalition of Union and SPD is clashing massively over the planned BAföG reform. Research Minister Dorothee Bär has publicly questioned the increase scheduled for July, despite an increase in funding being stipulated in the coalition agreement. Students reacted with outrage to the statements and criticized the approach as audacious.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz is not yet committing to an increase and is linking it to a budget reservation. His spokesman Stefan Kornelius indicated that all agreements would be subject to budget constraints. With this, the CDU/CSU is signaling that the promised reform could fail.

Conflict within the Union

A conflict is breaking out within the Union itself. The head of the CDU's social wing contradicts faction leader Jens Spahn and defends the BAföG increase. The dispute shows that there is no consensus even within Union leadership on the initiative.

The accusation is that the Union is ripping off the SPD with a trick and preventing the reform. The Merz government initially agreed to the increase, but now the CSU minister is rejecting the reform. Experts warn that spending cuts in student financing could jeopardize educational opportunities in the long term and threaten the country's future viability. Cutting spending on students is not investing in the next generation of skilled workers and innovators.

The BAföG reform was one of the coalition's central promises. Now it threatens to fail due to financing disputes – a symbol of growing tensions between the Union and SPD.