No TV Tax Increase?

 By tonight, this news item will be top-level discussion news.

So for a couple of weeks, I've been essaying over the 86-cent anticipated German TV tax rise.  To reach that level, they needed all sixteen German states in agreement.  The ARD/ZDF management folks (public TV)?  They are fairly settled that a rise must occur (it's been around 11 years since the last amount change).

Saxony-Anhalt?  The Premier-President finally (this morning) said 'no'.  They won't agree....so the rise for January will not occur.  Good update article by Focus over the topic.

Creating a power-mess in Saxony-Anhalt?  Yes....the state government functions with the CDU (the party that the Premier-President comes from), the Greens and the SPD Party (yes, it's a coalition).

Chaos now to follow?

Various discussions going on.  The SPD and Greens will probably quit the government, and you will end up with a minority government (the CDU running things).  The chances of a vote to collapse the government and force a early election?  There was supposed to be an election in the fall.  This might trigger to re-arrange the election to March (likely earliest date to hold one now).

Public stance?  Some Germans will say that 86 cents isn't a big deal.  Some Germans will say that in the midst of the Covid-19 virus....working class people really shouldn't be tasked to pay for the rise.  

Journalists?  Well, if they work for ARD or ZDF....they are pro-TV-tax.  

The general argument here by the Saxony-Anhalt CDU members?  A decade ago, they asked ARD to reform the TV media business....to go and trim manpower and useless programming.  What's happened since then?  Mostly nothing.

If ARD came now (as the boss of public TV) and promised a reform period (say in two years)?  It might be enough to get people back at the table and pass the tax.  

The key problem here?  As much 'goodness' as public TV might claim....the audience is lessening each and every year.  If you go around the 14-to-25 age group, it's probably fewer than 10-percent who watch two hours a week of public TV.  Amazon, Sky, Netflex streaming services?  A lot of kids are asking for a subscription for Christmas, if they haven't already signed up.  

My son (German and 30 years old) will say over the past 17 years....he's completely given up and never watched a single hour of public TV.  There are hundreds of thousands who will claim the same thing (an entire decade of avoiding the public TV network).

Trimming the public networks?  There are probably a hundred different methods where the budget could easily be cut by thirty percent....but they'd all go back to fewer employees and fewer managers.

If we weren't in the economical woes period?  That might be a major contributor to this discussion.

A stupid thing to peg a major chat forum over?  Yes, without any doubt.  

Triggering another election theme for 2021?  Without any doubt....it's a poor subject to attach to voters.  Probably fifty percent of all Germans have some whine or complaint over public TV, and it's unwise to make this a big argument.