Special session: loans without limits? Bundestag discusses debt plans

Two and a half weeks after the Bundestag election, the old Bundestag dealt with the huge debt plans of the Union and the SPD in an intensive debate and brought them to the parliamentary path. An farewell that is planned for next Tuesday is still open. The necessary two -thirds majority for the planned changes in the Basic Law is still not. In addition, the Federal Constitutional Court could still stop the project.

Union and SPD defended the plans for massive borrowing for defense and infrastructure and justified this with a tense security situation. CDU boss Friedrich Merz offered the Greens, on whose consent CSU, CSU and SPD, offered to invest funds from the planned 500 billion euro infrastructure special assets in climate protection and to loosen the debt brake not only for defense, but also for civil and population protection as well as intelligence services.

The Greens immediately rejected the offer and complained violently about the negotiation of the Union and the SPD. AfD, left and BSW speakers fundamentally rejected the plans to change the Basic Law and spoke of “upgrading” and “war loans”.

“What more do you want?”

Merz said the project no longer tolerated a delay. “We now have to do something to significantly increase our defense ability.” He referred to the war in Ukraine, developments in the USA, attacks on German infrastructure or drone survival on Bundeswehr barracks. There is a hybrid war that has been massively escalated in the past few weeks.

He said to the Greens’ address with regard to his previously submitted offer, so that Germany could make a big leap forward not only in defense, but also in the competitiveness of the economy and climate protection. “What more do you want?”

The approval of her faction is in question, confirmed Green Group leader Britta Haßelmann. “This did not get any better on today,” she said and expressed doubts “on the negotiation skills of some colleagues”. There have been conversations for days. “But offers to inadequate draft laws are neither made about the mailbox nor in the plenary if you want them to be successful.”

At the beginning of the session, the AfD failed with an application to stop the debate. In addition to the left and BSW representatives, the AfD also complains to the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe to stop the approval of the debt package.

In her view, the old Bundestag, which has now been drummed up again, no longer has the legitimacy of making such far -reaching decisions. AfD boss Alice Weidel accused Merz of breaking election promises. “You will go down in history as the graved graves of the debt brake, which you defended in the election campaign as far as lying.”

“What did you do with Friedrich Merz?”

Former finance minister Christian Lindner also came to the speaker desk again. The FDP politician preserved the likely future Chancellor to sacrifice his beliefs for the office. Merz suddenly has a completely different economic policy attitude than before the Bundestag election. “You here in the front row: Who are you? And what did you do with Friedrich Merz?” Asked Lindner.

The left-wing politician Christian Görke criticized one in his opinion “insane flat rate for the largest upgrade program” that the Federal Republic had ever experienced. BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht spoke a “boundless debt-financed upgrade” and spoke of “unlimited (s) war loans (s) for a new German militarism”.

Unlimited debt options for defense

The planned multi -illium financial package is intended to form the basis for a new black and red coalition. Specifically, the CDU, CSU and SPD have made defense expenditure from a certain amount of the debt brake. Everything that is over one percent of gross domestic product, i.e. over 44 billion euros, is to be financed from loans. There should be no limit upwards.

The countries should also get more scope for their own debt. Third project is a so -called special fund for investments in the infrastructure, which is fed with loans of up to 500 billion euros.

Without the consent of the Greens or FDP, the package in the Bundestag cannot be decided – because the Union and SPD alone do not have the required two -thirds majority for changing the Basic Law. But neither of the two factions has so far been available for approval.

Stumbling blocks and Federal Constitutional Court

The project could also fail on the Federal Council, which also has to say yes with two thirds of the votes. They are currently not sure.

In addition, the decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court on the lawsuits of Left, AfD and BSW are also pending. It is not excluded that the court is still prohibited from the Bundestag session planned for Tuesday and therefore no decision can be made.

Coalition negotiations begin in the evening

Regardless of all these uncertainties, the Union and SPD continue to work on a joint federal government. The start is a bigger round this evening in the CDU headquarters. Then the work begins in 16 thematic working groups. As the basis, the Union and SPD had agreed on central points in explorations, but there are still numerous questions to be clarified.