Berlin “You have to ask the Minister of Justice” – this sentence about Marco Buschmann is heard more and more often in the traffic light coalition when there is no progress on certain issues. Especially in the SPD, displeasure with the FDP politician and Federal Minister of Justice is great.
“We hope that he will increase the number of projects that are in the coalition agreement. There is still a lot of room for improvement with him, ”said the parliamentary manager of the SPD parliamentary group, Johannes Fechner, to the Handelsblatt. The Greens also say that Buschmann helped negotiate the traffic light coalition agreement and knows what needs to be done.
The criticism weighs heavily, as the 45-year-old Buschmann is considered a close confidant of the FDP leader and Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner. If the work of the Minister of Justice is under fire, Lindner is also affected.
The Ministry of Justice emphasizes: “Our guideline is the coalition agreement – and we stick to it.” They want to work through the agreed projects quickly, “we expect the same from the other houses”.
Nevertheless, the dissatisfaction with Buschmann is great, as the following examples show.
1st example: tenancy law
From the point of view of SPD politician Fechner, there are “some construction sites” that the Minister of Justice should have addressed long ago. “Mr. Buschmann simply doesn’t tackle them and doesn’t deliver. That is very annoying.” The Greens faction vizin Julia Verlinden also criticized the fact that Buschmann had not yet implemented the realignment of tenancy law.
In the coalition agreement, “many measures” were agreed to provide tenants “with better protection over the long term and to effectively dampen the explosion in rents,” Verlinden told the Handelsblatt.
The dissatisfaction with the topic is particularly great among the Social Democrats, because they have long regarded housing as “one of the social issues of our time”.
Buschmann’s ministry is in charge of tenancy law issues. That explains why the SPD is now putting pressure on.
>> Read also: More apartments from 2024? The wondrous optimism of Klara Geywitz
Specifically, it is about the extension of the rental price brake until 2029 and the expansion of the rent index obligation. The SPD and the Greens are also calling for more speed in the implementation of the agreed cap of eleven percent, according to which the rent may not be increased beyond this limit within three years. This limit is currently 20 percent or 15 percent, depending on the region. “The minister should finally present a bill for this,” said Fechner.
The Federal Building Minister recently conceded the traffic light government’s housing target.
(Photo: dpa)
In Buschmann’s ministry, no one understands the excitement. “We will soon present a draft law that implements the agreed projects,” it says on request. However, it is expected that Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) will also deliver. More new buildings are needed. The goal of 400,000 new apartments per year was agreed in the coalition agreement. “Unfortunately, we are lagging behind.”
2nd example: Index rents
For the SPD politician Fechner, the matter is clear: “We have to discuss how we can counter the extremely rising index rents.” Index rents are linked to inflation, which is a particular burden for tenants in times of rising consumer prices. An absurdity, also think the Greens.
“Instead of continuing to circumvent tenant protection, we finally need protection and predictability for both sides, for example through qualified rent indexes,” said Green politician Verlinden. “This homework is still unfinished in the Department of Justice.”
Increasingly, landlords want to agree on indexed rents due to high inflation.
(Photo: dpa)
Katharina Dröge, co-leader of the Greens parliamentary group in the Bundestag, now wants to discuss with the coalition partners how index rents can be regulated. Dröge suggested capping existing index leases and regulating new ones more tightly.
The Ministry of Justice does not want to know anything about it and points out that nothing has been agreed on index rents in the coalition agreement. “We are monitoring the development, but currently see no immediate need for action,” it says.
3rd example: natural hazard insurance
Buschmann also caused dissatisfaction in the traffic light coalition on other issues. “We were annoyed that he immediately rejected an elementary damage insurance in Germany without there being a discussion about it,” said SPD politician Fechner. Such insurance, which is intended to cover damage caused by natural hazards, already exists in many other European countries.
>> Read also: After the Ahr Valley Flood: Many Lessons – Few Measures
And the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley in 2021 showed that there is a need for it in Germany. In addition, according to Fechner, the justice ministers of the federal states and the prime ministers have spoken out in favor of such an insurance. “But Herr Buschmann doesn’t even want to discuss it. That annoyed us and is not the last word in the traffic light.”
A few days after the flood disaster in July 2021, caravans, gas tanks, trees and scrap piled up meters high on a bridge over the Ahr in Altenahr-Kreuzberg.
(Photo: dpa)
The Federal Environment Ministry of Department Head Steffi Lemke (Greens) also sees it. The Parliamentary State Secretary Christian Kühn recently pointed out that within the Federal Government there is “expressly no prior determination” as to whether protection against natural hazards should be prescribed by law in the future.
For the Green politician Verlinden, the matter is clear: “Insurance cover against natural hazards must be expanded in general and at the same time remain socially acceptable.” This would protect people from incalculable financial ruin in the event of a disaster.
But Buschmann is reluctant here too. His argument: “At a time when private households are under extreme financial pressure, we should keep our hands off everything that makes living in Germany even more expensive.” will,” he warned.
4. Example: data retention
Buschmann vehemently opposes the plans of the SPD-led Ministry of the Interior for a temporary obligation to store IP addresses in the fight against crime. Instead, the minister is promoting a “quick freeze” procedure that is “covered one-to-one by the coalition agreement”. In the event of suspicion, a judge must first order that certain data may be backed up, i.e. frozen. SPD politician Fechner is certain that the coalition agreement does not support Buschmann’s position.
Fechner also said that people were not happy about his statements on the storage of IP addresses, because consultations were still ongoing within the federal government. Therefore, more restraint would be appropriate from Buschmann.
But restraint is not in the minister’s nature. Buschmann likes to use the short message service Twitter to get involved in ongoing debates. Sometimes he overshoots the mark with it.
>> Read here: Justice Minister Buschmann fuels coalition dispute over data retention
The Interior Ministry was very upset when, in a tweet, he linked his aversion to data retention with an indirect request to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) that instead of conducting digital surveillance of all citizens, they should “better use all services at Citizens’ Registration Offices and other authorities, digitize quickly with whom people have contact”. Faeser is in charge of the digitization of administration, which has been progressing slowly for years.
5. Example: BND espionage case
Buschmann’s tweeting has also caused resentment elsewhere within the federal government, as the Handelsblatt learned from government circles. After the arrest of an employee of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) because of possible espionage for Russia, Buschmann wrote on the short message service: “If the suspicion is confirmed, an important blow against Russian espionage has been struck here. That shows how vigilant we have to be.”
In doing so, the minister broke an internal government agreement, it said. Because it had been agreed not to comment publicly on the espionage case, so as not to endanger further investigations. The Ministry of Justice knows nothing of such an arrangement. “Mr. Buschmann tweeted about it after the process was publicized by the Federal Public Prosecutor anyway.”
More: The traffic light cannot agree on these central projects.