Bavaria's Soeder wants funding cut for states run by AfD or Left Party

Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder wants German states governed by the far-right Alternative for Germany or the Left Party to be cut off from the country's fiscal equalization system. In an interview with the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper published Thursday, the Christian Social Union leader proposed a so-called extremism clause under which states run by extremists would no longer receive support from donor states. He was referring to Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD could enter government for the first time, and Berlin, where the Social Democrats, Greens and Left Party are negotiating a coalition. "We will not bankroll state policies that want expropriations and preach antisemitism," Soeder said.

Soeder said Bavaria is already in in-depth talks with Hesse and Baden-Wuerttemberg, the two other major donor states. Hesse's conservative premier, Boris Rhein, called for such a clause regarding Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt earlier this week in the Bild newspaper. Soeder said the other recipient states would not have to fear losses for now. Implementing the plan would require changes to the equalization system, and Soeder said he was confident of winning support. Bavaria is by far the biggest contributor, paying more than 10 billion euros a year, and is already challenging the system at the Constitutional Court. Berlin recently received more than 4 billion euros.

The proposal drew pushback from within the conservative camp. Gordon Schnieder, the Christian Democratic premier of Rhineland-Palatinate who chairs the conference of state premiers, told Deutschlandfunk radio the idea of settling the issue through finances had come up before. "I don't think that is the right way," he said, adding that he personally does not work with extremists "neither from the right nor from the left." The state leaders began talks at the Bundesrat in Berlin at 10 a.m. without Chancellor Friedrich Merz. No official agenda was published, but care reform, a cut in electricity tax and the auto industry were expected to be discussed. Schnieder and Lower Saxony premier Olaf Lies (SPD) planned to brief on results at around 1:45 p.m.