The CSU chairman and Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder has already received a lot of support for the new budget from within his own ranks. First there was praise at the national meeting of the Junge Union, then from the CSU board. “You can say: support from the entire party for the balanced budget,” said Söder on Saturday in Munich. There was also great support for the decision to abolish the child start-up allowance in order to “strengthen the daycare centers”.
The approval in the state parliament is unlikely to be quite so unanimous today when the Prime Minister presents the plans of the coalition of CSU and Free Voters in a government declaration in the state parliament. There has already been a lot of criticism from representatives of the opposition about the priorities in the budget, and the debate is likely to turn into a fundamental exchange of blows about the coalition’s course.
- BR24 will broadcast the government statement and the subsequent debate live from 1:50 p.m.
“Bavaria doesn’t take on debt”
Söder announced last week that he would give an outlook in the government statement on how Bavaria will position itself in difficult times. In addition to the budget for 2026 and 2027, he will also address fundamental questions. It also sees it as its task to “give hope, namely that we are doing much better in Bavaria than elsewhere.”
For a long time, Prime Minister Söder and Finance Minister Albert Füracker (CSU) left it open whether the Free State would incur debt again in 2026 and 2027 for the first time in years. Ultimately, they announced another balanced double budget two weeks ago. Solid finances are “the core brand” of Bavarian politics, emphasized Söder. “Bavaria doesn’t go into debt. The rest of the world might, but we don’t.”
Focus on education and research
Overall, the state government is planning record spending totaling 168.1 billion euros for both years. Of this, 7 billion euros come from Bavaria’s share of the federal government’s special infrastructure fund.
Investments are also expected to climb to a new high of 28.6 billion euros. At 17 percent, the planned investment rate is slightly higher than in previous years and also higher than in other federal states. In terms of content, the state government is focusing on the topics of education and research: 59.5 billion euros are available for this – more than a third of the budget. One billion euros has been earmarked for the continuation of the high-tech agenda.
Savings in personnel – no more child entry fees
However, the Free State is using its reserves: Füracker is planning to use this to budget almost five billion euros for the double budget. However, a good billion in reserves should remain. At the same time, spending on personnel should fall to less than 40 percent. The reduction of around 1,000 jobs in the civil service should also contribute to this. The state government also expects savings in the accommodation of refugees.
In order to reduce deficits in daycare operating costs, there will no longer be any direct payments from the Free State to parents in the future. After Söder had already announced the reduction in family allowance (6,000 euros per child) a year ago, the planned child start allowance (3,000 euros) is now being canceled.
