Agency Report –
The parties hoping to form the next German government – the conservative bloc and Social Democrats (SPD) – are making significant efforts in winning over the Greens, whose votes they need to pass a multibillion-euro financial package.
Germany’s parliament is meeting in Berlin on Thursday to discuss an amendment to the Basic Law, Germany’s de facto constitution, to allow for increased military spending as well as the creation of a special €500 billion ($545 billion) infrastructure fund.
Friedrich Merz, Germany’s likely new chancellor and leader of the Christian Democrats (CDU), proposed relaxing the debt rules, not only for defence spending but also for civil protection and intelligence services.
Additionally, during the first reading on Thursday, Merz also proposed dedicating up to €50 billion of the special fund to a climate and transformation fund, arguing that this would help Germany advance both its defence capabilities and its economic and climate competitiveness, in a bid to secure the Green Party’s backing.
“What more do you want?” Merz asked, addressing the Greens.
However, the Greens immediately rejected the offer.
Katharina Dröge, the leader of the Greens in the Bundestag, responded firmly, stating that if Merz was wondering why negotiations were stalling, the answer was clear: “Because we are not counting on your word.”
During last month’s election campaign Merz put himself at the centre of the political storm when he pushed through a non-binding motion with the support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) calling for a crackdown on migration, a hotly debated election topic.
The move sparked nationwide protests, with demonstrators accusing him of tearing down the firewall agreed by all the other parties against working with the AfD.
The Greens also want guarantees that the new funds will actually be used for additional investments, Dröge added.
“Anyone who expects us to agree to hundreds of billions for investment in this country must understand that we will ensure the money is spent on infrastructure, not on tax cuts,” she said.
The spending package was put together by the parties hoping to form the next German government, Merz’s CDU, its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) – which together won February’s parliamentary election – along with their likely coalition partners, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).
Losses in the February election by the SPD in particular mean the CDU/CSU and the SPD would not have the required two-thirds majority to pass an amendment to the Basic Law once the newly elected lawmakers take up their seats in the Bundestag.
For the necessary majority in the new Bundestag, they would have to rely on The Left, a hard-left party that has long opposed higher military spending.
It is also unclear whether the outgoing Bundestag is allowed to make these far-reaching decisions.
The Left, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the upstart populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) party have filed lawsuits at the Constitutional Court with the aim of preventing the special sessions this week and next.
They argue that such steps would violate the rights of the incoming members of parliament.
Final committee consultations on the proposal are scheduled for Friday, with the second and third readings, followed by a roll-call vote in the Bundestag on Tuesday.
