The federal states are demanding billions in emergency aid from the federal government for their financially ailing municipalities, some of which are on the verge of collapse. "The municipalities are not supplicants," emphasized Saxony's head of government Michael Kretschmer (CDU) at the Minister Presidents' Conference (MPK) in Berlin. "It is quite clear that the current situation has arisen and is being exacerbated by federal laws, by federal benefit laws." It is therefore not about "handouts" for the municipalities, but about clarifying this situation for which the federal government is responsible.
The heads of the state governments spoke with the representatives of the municipal umbrella organizations before their actual consultations. MPK Chairman Alexander Schweitzer (SPD) warned that if a municipality could no longer guarantee services of general interest, this would have a negative impact on its citizens. "What is at stake is nothing less than the future of our democracy, which will or will not take place for the people on the ground," said the Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate.
