Merz dampens expectations
A single word says a lot about the situation. “Well…” Friedrich Merz replies at his summer press conference when the subject turns to the planned reform of the debt brake.
The chancellor makes it clear: he does not expect the government to successfully get this project off the ground again. The reform commission will soon present proposals, but apparently not a joint one.
Merz says there could be two or even three models. His conclusion: “That means we remain stuck facing the same dilemma.” For the coalition, this is a delicate moment.
The CDU/CSU and SPD are far apart
The problem is fundamental: the CDU/CSU and the SPD have very different ideas about how much financial leeway the state should have in the future.
Reforming the debt brake would require amending the Basic Law. Merz points out that the hurdles for this are “extremely high.” In addition to the CDU/CSU and SPD, it would also require the support of the Greens and other members of parliament.
That could mean votes from the Left or the AfD – parties the CDU/CSU does not want to work with. That is why Merz says clearly: “In that respect, I am not very confident that we will succeed in getting the change to the debt brake underway again in this government.”
The SPD does not want to give up
For the SPD, however, the matter is not settled. Within the party there is still a desire to treat investments differently on a permanent basis.
Wiebke Esdar, deputy parliamentary group leader of the SPD, tells t-online: “With an investment rule in the Basic Law, future-oriented investments should be permanently exempt from the debt brake.”
For her, this remains “the task of this governing coalition.” The SPD argues that timely investments in education, training, and growth are cheaper in the long run than later repairs. So it is not only about debt, but about the question of what the state must be able to afford in order to remain capable of acting.
