BERLIN, July 21 (UPI) -- Election promises of Germany's left-wing parties would cost roughly $110 billion, the German daily newspaper Bild reported Thursday.
Support for the political symbiosis of the Party of the Left and the Labor and Social Justice Party has grown steadily in recent weeks.
The leftist union is now the third-strongest party in Germany ahead of early federal elections expected to be held Sept. 18.
The plan to do away with taxation of retirement pensions -- only one of many costly election promises -- would cost more than $16 billion.
The two leftist parties also plan to pump up federal investments in education and science, which would cost more than $36 billion, the newspaper said.
Germany's federal deficit currently stands at a record high of $1.74 trillion. Most major parties said the debt needs to be lowered before new investments can take place.
In the economically troubled eastern states of Germany, latest polls have nearly one in three voters choosing the leftist union.
