Investments in early child education and care is predicated on the principle of national competitiveness, the principle social equity is very much a distant second. That is, less about giving every child a chance in life (although that is part of it) and more about ensuring Germany has the most educated, advanced labour force. 

The CDU break from traditional conservative, Catholic values of family responsibility started in the mid to late 1990s as the reality of neo-liberalism and global corporatism became clear. However, there remains much resistance in the more Catholic oriented Länder to local implementation. 

Ultimately, the case is stronger that social investment and child care in Germany is more the product of neo-liberalism than democratic socialism. Of course, that also reflects the composition of the current coalition government which is led/dominated by the CDU and the smaller partner the Social Democratic Party (SPD).