Robert Habeck: Why his “Germany Fund” triggers the SPD

Robert Habeck has presented a plan that could be called a bit daring from the perspective of the Chancellor’s party. The Green Economics Minister has recently been envisioning a “Germany Fund,” a state-financed debt pot that would be used to promote investment and stimulate the economy again. So far, so good – if it weren’t for the thing about the name.

The Habeck plans are initially met with goodwill in the SPD, which is also committed to more investment. However, they also cause a certain amount of discontent among the comrades who had brought a similar instrument into play months ago: the “Germany Fund”.

And who invented it now?

“Dear Robert Habeck…”

Verena Hubertz can claim this for herself, at least with regard to the SPD; she played a key role in designing the Social Democrats’ “Germany Fund”. The deputy group leader then reacted somewhat sniffily to the Economics Minister’s name plagiarism. On the short message service X, Hubertz thanked “dear Robert” for his suggestion, but: “You could be a little more creative with the name.” She knows that there is no copyright for political ideas. “But especially as an author, I thought that original concepts were important to you.”

So is this a blatant idea theft from Habeck? The economics minister doesn’t want to be so bold as to push into the “Merkel gap” that he once identified in the Union. The former Chancellor liked to copy election campaign themes from the SPD and thus infuriate her comrades. The two “Germany funds” share the same name, but have key differences. SPD politician Hubertz sums up the most important formula as follows: “A real fund is a little more than just debt-financed spending,” she said, slightly annoyed star. With his fund, Habeck is actually just describing a new special fund.

Duel over the “Germany Fund”

Habeck wants to support companies with state funds and is proposing an investment bonus of ten percent of the investment volume – the money for this should come from a “Germany Fund” from the federal and state governments. The premium would be offset against the company’s tax liability in the year of investment. “If it is higher than the tax liability or if the company makes no profits at all, the difference or the entire bonus is paid out,” says the minister’s “modernization agenda” published on Wednesday. The measure should therefore be limited to five years.

The SPD, on the other hand, wants state funding with its “Germany Fund”. and Mobilize private capital “to leverage long-term and comprehensive investments in sustainable business models,” as an SPD board resolution from March states. No new debts should arise.

The social democratic “Germany Fund” acts as an umbrella fund, explains Hubertz, and provides different vehicles for different tasks. “It’s about large investors, such as insurance companies or pension funds, investing part of their capital in infrastructure and future projects, especially in the country’s climate-neutral transformation,” says the economic politician. “On the one hand, this helps to reduce the burden on the budget,” argues Hubertz, “and, on the other hand, to advance the very expensive expansion of, for example, hydrogen infrastructure or battery storage with privately mobilized capital.”

The fund proposals are also likely to play a role in the upcoming federal election campaign, not least in terms of sharpening the respective profile. The economics minister said bluntly that his ideas went beyond what was agreed in the coalition agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP. “But (…) reality doesn’t stick to contracts,” said Habeck, who is obviously aiming for the Green candidacy for chancellor. With the measures taken so far, the economic recovery is going too slowly. “We need short-term stimulus and investment in infrastructure, and we need structural improvements to the site.”

With his “Germany Fund”, the Economics Minister is not only triggering the SPD, which, according to Secretary General Matthias Miersch, fundamentally welcomes the project, but also the Union and the liberal coalition partner. Habeck had already proposed a special fund worth billions in February to relieve the burden on companies. However, the FDP and Finance Minister Christian Lindner had repeatedly spoken out against state funding and instead in favor of tax cuts. You can’t “incur hundreds of billions of euros in debt in order to pay subsidies on credit,” said Lindner.

The borrowed name of the “Germany Fund” shouldn’t change that.