Saxon state parliament discusses double budget

The Saxon state parliament continues its budget debate with the adoption of the budgets for the individual ministries. On the second day of voting, the budgets for the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are on the agenda today.

The parliamentary groups of the AfD and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) have tabled many amendments. The AfD had announced 169 amendments with savings and 47 with additional expenditure. The BSW had 112. The final vote will take place in the evening.

The budget provides for expenditure of around 25 billion euros for both years. In order to compensate for an initial shortfall of four billion euros, the government dipped into its reserves for its draft and also made cuts.

Coalition relies on votes from the opposition

As the minority coalition of CDU and SPD lacks ten votes for a majority in parliament, it is reliant on support from the opposition. Initially, the coalition tried to reach an agreement with the Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) alliance. However, no agreement was reached. This was only achieved with the Greens and the Left. In return, they were able to reverse a series of planned cuts. The Greens and Left Party together make up 13 MPs, twelve of whom want to vote in favor of the double budget.

On Wednesday, the first individual budgets had already been voted on, including for the State Chancellery, the state parliament and the Court of Audit. The budget for the Ministry of Culture also received a majority. It provides for expenditure of around 5.3 billion euros for this year and around 5.4 billion euros for 2026. In a general debate on the budget, the parliamentary groups engaged in a verbal exchange of blows. The AfD, the BSW and the non-attached MP Matthias Berger, who sits in the state parliament for the Free Voters, rejected the budget.