The general secretary of the opposition party Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Carsten Linnemann, called for a 15% reduction in the number of Bundestag administration employees to save money.
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When asked how money can be saved, Lienemann said authorities need to start with themselves.
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“One small example: in connection with the electoral reform, the number of Bundestag deputies will be reduced from 733 to 630. The Bundestag administration needs to at the same time reduce (part of) their 3 thousand employees – as in the Bundestag, by 15%,” he said.
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The federal elections law was passed last year. Its main goal is to reform the electoral law in order to limit the number of parliamentarians from 736 to 630 people. The opposition did not support the reform.
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The chairman of the state group of the Christian Social Union (CSU), Alexander Dobrindt, criticized the reform in the debate before the vote and suggested that its purpose was to oust the Left party from parliament and an attempt to call into question the “right of the CSU to exist.” According to Dobrindt, in this way the ruling parties want to cement their power ambitions.
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In July 2024, the German Constitutional Court declared illegal the agreement of the country’s government to abolish one of the provisions of the five percent clause, which previously allowed parties to enter the country’s parliament even without 5% of the votes on party lists.
