Debate on debt brake: First the money, then the morals

Berlin taz | When it comes to money, Friedrich Merz has always been crystal clear: first there must be a financial review and a look at where money can be saved in the budget. Only then can one talk about additional debt. But no sooner had the Union won the election than Merz took a different approach. Now he wants to talk about new debt quickly.

It is not about a reform of the constitutional debt brake, as the SPD, the Left and the Greens are demanding. Rather, it is about increasing the special funds for the Bundeswehr, i.e. a way of circumventing the debt brake. There is talk of an additional 200 billion euros, a sum that Merz would neither confirm nor deny on Tuesday. "We are talking to each other, but it is far too early to say anything. However, he ruled out a reform of the debt brake in the near future. "That is extensive and difficult work, if it takes place at all."

But an increase in the special funds for the Bundeswehr would also require a change to the relevant wording in the Basic Law, which would have to be approved by a two-thirds majority. Without being anchored in the Basic Law, the money would have to come from the federal budget.

Larger loans would only be possible if an emergency was declared, which temporarily suspended the debt brake. The catch: The money would have to be spent in the year in which it was borrowed. Or an emergency would have to be declared again every year.

The chances that the AfD and the Left Party in particular will successfully sue are high. Both parties in the Bundestag could also block an increase in the special fund for the Bundeswehr. The Left Party has already made it clear: "There will be no votes from the Left Party for this new special fund for rearmament," said chairwoman Ines Schwerdtner.

So CSU leader Markus Söder and the parliamentary director of the Union Thorsten Frei are bringing a vote with the old Bundestag majority into play. This would theoretically be possible until the new Bundestag is constituted. The votes of the Union, SPD and Greens would be enough for this.

The outgoing SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich was open, but criticized Merz. The whole thing was a "tightrope walk." Mützenich said he was surprised by the last few hours, "how quickly you can suddenly reinvent the wheel."

Current Chancellor Olaf Scholz had proposed exempting defense spending from the debt brake or reforming it, but was rebuffed by Merz before the election. On Tuesday, Merz met with Scholz in the Chancellery. Merz had already contacted SPD chairman Lars Klingbeil on Monday evening.