The liberal voice of Katherina Reiche matters. She should not endanger it with provocations

Katherina Reiche’s ministry is right about Germany’s tax reform, but the way it raised its objections threatens to undermine the very cause it supports. That is the central criticism in Cornelius Welp’s commentary for the NZZ newsletter “Der andere Blick.”

Welp describes Reiche as an important counterweight to the strong faith in government that he says is widespread even within the governing coalition. Business representatives have trusted her to take their concerns seriously, particularly after her predecessor, Robert Habeck, was seen as less responsive to them.

But the economy minister repeatedly goes too far, Welp argues. Politics depends heavily on compromise, and agreements should generally remain in place once negotiators have reached them. A politician who persistently challenges settled compromises risks eventually losing office, he writes.

The latest example was a letter from a state secretary in Reiche’s ministry to a counterpart in the Finance Ministry, led by SPD chairman Lars Klingbeil. The letter criticized the tax reform approved on Wednesday, especially because it would not reduce “bracket creep,” the loss of workers’ purchasing power when wages rise in line with inflation and push them into higher tax brackets.

The coalition agreement between the CDU and SPD promised relief, particularly for low and middle incomes. Welp says the reform fails to deliver that relief, making the ministry’s substantive criticism valid. Yet he considers the timing, one day before the vote, a political disruption rather than an expression of principled conduct. In his view, the action created further unrest and deepened existing doubts about the coalition’s ability to function. Its form and timing therefore hurt Reiche’s argument more than they helped it.