Germany's center-right bloc of Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party Christian Social Union (CSU) has unanimously voted in favor of an election program that promises to lower taxes and stop illegal migration.

The CDU/CSU wants to reduce income tax and gradually lower taxes for companies to 25%. It promises not to cut old age pensions and plans to encourage those who want to continue working beyond retirement age of 67, allowing them to earn up to €2,000 ($2,100) per month tax-free on top of their pension.

The problem: The bold ideas of CDU chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz will cost billions of euros, and will be extremely hard to implement if the CDU/CSU refuses to ease the "debt brake." Enshrined in  Germany's Basic Law, the brake limits fresh debt to a maximum of 0.35% of economic output (GDP).

Although he himself is not popular with the electorate, Merz's party is currently significantly ahead in opinion polls, and he has a good chance of becoming the next chancellor after the snap election on February 23.

Social Democrats: boost investment, increase public debt

The Social Democrats (SPD) want to reform the debt brake in order to make billions of euros available for urgently needed investments, for example in the ailing infrastructure. The party is also focusing on tax incentives for companies hoping to increase investment.

In line with its message to low-income voters, the SPD wants the super-rich with assets of more than €100 million to pay a wealth tax. In the Bundestag this week, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that he would raise the statutory minimum wage once again: "In the last election campaign, I promised a minimum wage of €12, and I have kept that promise. That's why I'm fighting for a €15 minimum wage in the next federal election."

Greens: Not just climate protection

In the past three years of government, the Greens have been facing criticism over their climate protection plans. Now the party has scaled back its demands to reduce greenhouse gases compared to the 2021 election campaign.

The Greens also want to reform the debt brake, introduce subsidies for electric cars, and propose a new "citizens' fund" to secure pensions. This fund should also be fed with state money. And they want a billionaire's tax, as vice-chancellor and leading candidate Robert Habeck said in an interview with the tabloid Bild.

According to expert estimates, there are currently 249 billionaires in Germany: "If you taxed a small proportion of their wealth, you would have around five to six billion euros," was Habeck's calculation. He said this money could be invested in education.

FDP: a new economic policy

Like the Greens, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) is also calling for a reform of pensions. Party leader Christian Lindner is campaigning for the introduction of a share-based pension. The FDP's demands for a fundamentally different economic policy were the main reason for the break-up of the coalition government with SPD and the Greens in November.

Many of those demands have now appeared in the party's election program: Easing the tax burden on companies with high energy prices, and less bureaucracy.

Left Party: Focus on social justice

The socialist Left Party wants to introduce higher taxes for the wealthy, including an inheritance tax of 60% for those with an inheritance of €3 million or more.

The Left Party also wants to raise the minimum wage to €15 and pensions to 53% (from currently 48%) of the recipient's net income. It wants to boost public transport to make sure there is at least an hourly bus and train service for rural areas, and to ban flights that are shorter than 500 kilometers or five hours by train.

AfD: Soft on Russia, tough on immigrants

According to its draft election manifesto, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) wants Germany to leave the EU and abolish the euro. It denies the existence of man-made climate change and advocates setting up new coal-fired power plants and nuclear power stations, and to resume the import of Russian natural gas.

The AfD also wants even tougher border controls that push back refugees who have traveled through other EU countries to get to Germany. They even want to detain asylum-seekers at the border while their applications are processed.

Ukraine war

The CDU/CSU is also in favor of turning back refugees at the borders. Following the fall of Syrian ruler Bashar Assad, CDU chancellor candidate Merz does not want to allow any more people from Syria to come to Germany. The SPD, FDP and Greens also agree to a more consistent deportation of asylum seekers who have committed crimes.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to address voter concerns about the war in Ukraine. His SPD has vowed to continue to support Ukraine but does not want to supply long-range missiles that could reach targets in Russia. However, this is precisely what Merz has repeatedly spoken out in favor of in recent months.

All the parties will vote on their draft manifestos at special party conferences in the New Year. This will be followed by a short and certainly heated campaign until the election on February 23.

This article was originally written in German.

While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.