The Story

Germany's ‘traffic light’ government has agreed upon the details of the central social project of its coalition agreement: the Hartz IV unemployment benefits - enacted by the Social Democrats back in 2005 but hated on the left - will be replaced by a system called Bürgergeld ‘citizen’s income’.

Starting in January, the monthly dole payments will be bumped up by €50 to €502. Meanwhile, predicted inflation for the coming year will be built into the new allowance, replacing the current model of using price rises from the previous year.