Last week, Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats announced that they had agreed on major investments to boost the sluggish German economy and simultaneously build up robustly.
The defense component, possibly worth several hundred billion euros, is intended to be financed through a relaxation of the constitutionally anchored debt brake. The new rules will enable weapon purchases and investments in defense to be exempted from the otherwise strict borrowing rules.
Infrastructure investments of up to 500 billion euros over ten years are also included in the agreement, which is taking place within the framework of ongoing coalition talks between Germany's two major state-bearing parties.
To pass the decision, a qualified majority of two-thirds is required in the Bundestag. In just a few weeks, a new parliament will take office, where the fringe parties together have more than a third of the seats. Therefore, Merz wants to hold a vote with the outgoing assembly already in the coming weeks – something that requires support from the Greens or the liberal FDP.
