No agreement yet on budget and administrative reform

Saxony's government has failed to reach an agreement on the new budget and administrative reform at its closed meeting lasting several days. The consultations in Dresden are continuing, according to the state chancellery. It remains to be seen when they will come to a conclusion. The press conference at which results were to be presented in the afternoon was cancelled.

The cabinet, led by Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU), has been negotiating the 2027/2028 double budget, administrative modernization and relief for municipalities and the economy since Sunday. In addition to a noticeable reduction in bureaucracy, far-reaching savings are the aim of the talks.

Deficit of 2.9 billion euros in the budget for 2027/2028

In the next two years, Saxony will have to balance a budget deficit of 2.9 billion euros, as Finance Minister Christian Piwarz (CDU) announced back in December. At the time, he spoke of an unprecedented order of magnitude. The government had already agreed on some key points, such as the reduction in administrative staff. By 2040, at least 6,131 jobs are to be cut at the authorities, the majority of which will be due to retirements.

Once the coalition has agreed on results, it faces the next task: as the CDU and SPD are dependent on opposition votes for resolutions in the state parliament, the next step is a comprehensive parliamentary procedure.