The SPD is setting its sights on massive state investments and a reform of the debt brake in the election campaign. “Germany needs an investment update”, it says in a nine-page closing report of the party, which the “Spiegel” reported on.
The regulations of the debt brake are “too rigid and do not do justice to the challenges of our time”, it says in the paper. The SPD is fighting for a new upswing, said party chairman Lars Klingbeil to the “Spiegel”. “That requires a new financial policy that mobilizes the necessary funds.” The SPD is making a serious offer for that.
A reform of the debt brake requires a two-thirds majority, as it is enshrined in the constitution. Faction leader Rolf Mützenich said he had initiated a cross-party consensus. “Unfortunately, the FDP and the Union were not won over for ideological reasons”, Mützenich told the “Spiegel”. “We have lost precious time.”
The SPD’s report proposes three pillars for a reform of the financial policy, so that investments in future viability, prosperity, and the lives of future generations no longer fall entirely under the strict credit limits of the debt rule. In addition, the party wants to adjust the upper limits. Furthermore, the party wants to adjust the emergency rule and demands that the state be able to decide on credit authorizations for several years in advance in times of crisis.
Regarding the economic component, the SPD wants to re-determine the production potential of the economy to better reflect the economy. This means, for example, the goal of increasing the employment of women.