Image: Sandro Halank [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Centre-right leader Friedrich Merz is expected to become chancellor in a new coalition following election
Germany’s Alliance of Science Organisations has appealed to the incoming federal government to prioritise strengthening the national research system when it takes office following the national election.
As expected, the centre-right Christian Democratic Union party led by Friedrich Merz (pictured) won the most votes on 23 February, picking up 28.5 per cent together with its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union. It will now seek to form a coalition government with Merz as chancellor.
The far-right Alternative für Deutschland doubled its share of the vote to 20.8 per cent but is expected to be kept out of the government. By contrast, the coalition is likely to involve the centre-left Social Democratic Party of outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz, which won just 16.4 per cent of the votes.
After the result was announced, Merz promised to move swiftly to form a government.
Research sector demands
In a statement ahead of the vote, the Alliance of Science Organisations, which represents the main national research funder, university rectors, research institutions, the national science academy and other important groups, set out half a dozen demands for the resulting government.
These included an increase in national spending on R&D to 3.5 per cent of GDP, up from about 3.1 per cent at present, and a restructuring of the research ministry so that it better combines responsibility for research, innovation and education.
The group also wants reduced bureaucracy and stronger autonomy in the research system, increased support for research infrastructure and a more international outlook.
Spokesperson Holger Hanselka, president of the Fraunhofer Society of applied research institutes, said a “clear political commitment” to research was needed to enable the sector to continue to perform at the highest level.
Integrated policymaking, diverse ecosystem
“Research and innovation policies need to be prioritised and more closely integrated” in a reformed ministry, the alliance said.
By contrast, it said the diversity of the German research landscape with its universities and institutes must be preserved and not be restricted through requirements that lead to convergence.
“Germany’s research owes its success to a highly diverse higher education and research system, constitutionally guaranteed autonomy, and reliable funding from the German federal and state governments,” the alliance said.
“Higher education and research institutions need a more flexible legal and financial framework,” it said, adding that it had “put forward concrete proposals aimed at cutting red tape and speeding up procedures, which now need to be implemented without delay”.
The group also called for an increased budget for the German Research Foundation public funder and for the government to advocate for “a substantial, independent EU budget for R&D”.
In addition, it said that Germany “needs to attract highly qualified students and research scientists by offering attractive overall conditions, such as accelerated visa procedures”.
View this article on Research Professional