German government criticised over €5.8 million office spending
The Foreign Office had the largest bill among 16 ministries, while the Finance Ministry led spending on decorations.
Germany’s federal government spent around €5.8 million on office furniture, furnishings and decorations after the legislative term began in May 2025, prompting criticism from the German Taxpayers’ Association. The expenditure was disclosed in the government’s answer to an AfD parliamentary question in the Bundestag.
The figures span 16 ministries and include lighting, carpets and curtains alongside furniture, artworks and ornamental plants. At €840,062, the Foreign Office’s expenditure was the highest. Around €256,000 of its spending in 2026 was for curtains, lamps and carpets. The Defence Ministry followed with around €813,000.
The Federal Finance Ministry, headed by Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil of the SPD, spent more than half a million euros on equipment, furniture and decoration after May 2025. Its €45,077 decoration bill was the largest of any ministry and represented more than a quarter of the government’s spending in that category.
A further figure concerned offices for senior management at the Finance Ministry: refitting them cost €47,737 in 2026.
Reiner Holznagel, president of the German Taxpayers’ Association, said demands for thrift from citizens should also apply within ministries and public authorities. He argued that the Bundestag’s budget committee should demonstrate how seriously politicians take their announced savings measures.
