Christian Lindner considers the nine-euro ticket to be unfair and criticizes the “free mentality” of some citizens. His statements sparked outrage online. Users accuse him of being unrealistic – and refer to his privileges.
In the debate about the continuation of the nine-euro ticket, Christian Lindner (FDP) has caused a stir with his recent comments. The Minister of Finance spoke out decisively against a successor arrangement.
There are no funds available for this, he told the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. And further: “Every euro would have to be mobilized elsewhere through cuts.”
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Travelers can currently use all public transport in Germany for nine euros a month. But that only applies to August. It is unclear what will happen after that. While many politicians are demanding a continuation of the discounted tickets, Linder reacts defensively.
“Every tax subsidy for a ticket that does not cover costs means redistribution,” said the FDP politician recently. He warned against a “free mentality based on the example of the unconditional basic income”.
People in rural areas who don’t have a train station nearby and are dependent on cars “would subsidize cheap local transport,” says Lindner. “I don’t think that’s fair.”
The reactions to his statements were not long in coming. Many users online were outraged by his words, including numerous politicians. Niema Movassat, a former member of the Bundestag and member of the left, accused Lindner of “contempt for the poor”.
Katharina Dröge, parliamentary group leader of the Greens, emphasized that affordable public transport is a “prerequisite for social participation”. And noted that cheap tickets are much fairer than tax cuts, which would benefit the rich in particular.
Some users also responded to Linder’s Sylt wedding with Franca Lehfeldt. The couple had a church wedding last July. However, Lindner himself does not belong to any church. Left-wing politician Clemens Jost complained that the finance minister was using church tax contributions to get married in a church – that was a “free mentality”.
Another, anonymous user asks: “Who financed the security of their own magnificent wedding at taxpayer expense?”
Other commentators saw it similarly, criticizing Lindner’s “free security service” and the “privilege of voting on one’s own salary increases”. Just like the company car, the minister’s salary or the BahnCard 100, which the finance minister should have.
In the midst of the wave of outrage, Lindner spoke up on Twitter on Monday. He defended his interview statements as follows: “A free mentality cannot be financed in the long term, it is not efficient and it is not fair. And apparently also unecological, as the first opinions on the evaluation of the nine-euro ticket are now explaining.”
Lindner referred to the first scientific evaluations by Agora Verkehrswende. Accordingly, the nine-euro ticket does not lead to people leaving their cars at home more often. There is therefore no positive climate protection effect.
Project manager Philipp Kosok told the dpa news agency that the data is still very sparse, but: “What is available is very alarming data. It indicates that the nine-euro ticket generates more traffic and, above all, hardly shifts it.” Surveys by the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) show that around a quarter of public transport journeys would not even be made without the ticket .
Lindner received encouragement from FDP politician Moritz Harrer. He commented: “A hasty extension would be unwise.” Overall, however, there are only a few voices on Twitter that side with Lindner. FDP politician Ralph Lange, for example, wrote that Twitter was angry because Lindner was paying attention to the cash register.
