Many say the German government is ruining the country.

Welfare spending in Germany is set to explode under the Social Democrat-Green-Liberal coalition government, with a record €42.6 billion in so-called „citizens’ allowances” for 2023, up from €36.6 billion in 2022. In 2023, around 47.3% of those eligible for these allowances were non-German foreigners, up four percentage points on 2022 figures. In addition, the administrative costs of the benefit scheme also hit a record high, costing the state €6.3 billion to be precise, some €300 million more than in 2022, according to government figures obtained by right-wing politician Rene Springer. If this administrative burden is added, the total welfare cost amounted to 48.9 billion euros. The German daily Bild notes that this figure is 14.8, 18.4 and 23 per cent higher than in years 2023, 2020 and 2015 respectively.

Now, the largest business association in Germany, the DHK, is accusing the left-liberal government of deliberately creating problems that are eroding Germany’s fiscal strength and exacerbating the unemployment situation. The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party reacted to the figures in a statement.

„What country in the world allows itself to be so exploited? The proportion of people on benefits has more than doubled since 2010 (19.6%). And we are only talking about people who do not have German citizenship. German citizens with a migration background are not included in the 47.3 percent,”

the statement reads. The party stresses that these figures fundamentally refute the liberal claims that the mass admission of migrants will help pay German pensions and meet the demand of German industry, which is desperate for skilled labour, Remix News reports.

Christian Democrats have also reacted to the shocking figures. „The Citizen’s Allowance continues to set negative records in economic indicators for hindering job creation and spiking employment costs. The vast majority of Germans find this system totally unfair,” said the Christian Democratic Union’s (CDU) Jens Spahn, criticizing the government’s social safety net. But the CDU MEP seems to have forgotten that his party was the staunchest supporter of the mass illegal migration – rampant under Angela Merkel’s government – that created the current crisis.