(Adnkronos) – As anticipated, the Greens are standing in the way of the plan by likely future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to loosen the debt brake, which should allow for massive investments in infrastructure and defense. “We will recommend to the members of the Greens parliamentary group not to accept these changes” to the Constitution, announced group leader Katharina Droege, ahead of the start of the debate on the plan in the Bundestag next Thursday.
The plan for an increase in defense spending and for a 500 billion fund for infrastructure was presented in recent days by Merz and the Social Democrats, who in recent days concluded exploratory talks and reached an agreement to begin negotiations for the formation of a grand coalition. To allow for such spending, the debt brake rule would have to be reformed, a constitutional reform that requires the approval of 2/3 of parliamentarians and that the CDU-CSU and SPD would like to see voted on by the outgoing Parliament, where they hoped to have the numbers if the Greens voted for it.
The Conservatives and the Social Democrats “want to reform the debt brake to finance tax breaks – denounced the co-chair of the Greens, Franziska Brantner – The Greens are not available for this.”
