Archive: https://archive.is/20250304200800/https://www.ft.com/content/316ef73e-cf54-4d38-af5b-7166c684a13a
A provision would exempt defence spending above 1 per cent of GDP from the debt brake rules, allowing Germany to boost spending on its armed forces by an unlimited amount at a time when Europe faces the prospect of losing US guarantees that have underpinned its security since Donald Trump began his second presidential term.
The future coalition partners will introduce another constitutional amendment to set up a €500bn fund for infrastructure, which would run over 10 years. They are also planning to loosen debt rules for states.
To put this into perspective…
The CDU sued the last government over 60 billion oif debt that were already accounted for but could not be allowed for investments into infrastructure and green transformation of industry when it was originally planned for covid. Then they spend 3 years and the whole election campaign defending the debt brake as something fundamentally important that they will never allow to be circumvented. While telling everyone that the former government just can’t handle money of course.
And just days after the election they decide that the country really needs about ~1 trillion in new debts (500b on-time for investments, defense budgets being ignored for calculations and loosened debt rules for the states).
That’s obstruction in it’s purest form. They sabotaged the country for years just because there cannot be any solution when they aren’t in power.
Great summery, but I have one addition: The CDU tries to use a qualified majority that could have formed at any time before the election but will be gone after the new Bundestag constitutes. That also means that while they will likely lead the next government, right now they are still the opposition
I hate Merz and the Goons of CDU/CSU (can we legally call them right, now?) so god damn much…
I would prefer to not call them CDU/CSU anymore, as they have proven to reject everything the C, D or S stands for 😁
That’s why, we usually refer to them as Union. However, it’s a loose one, as the Bavarian party often does it’s own thing.
…nor is there ever a good solution when they are in power, for which there is plenty of evidence.
Their “good solutions” is not reverting everything the former government did then waiting for the results of those policies and claiming them as their own success.
Which can be then translated to enough votes by morons to spend another decade doing nothing and funneling money to friends and family. Rinse and repeat.
Very well put.