The German Bundestag has lifted the debt brake, a move that will pave the way for a massive debt package worth hundreds of billions of euros. This development is a departure from the election promises of the Union and SPD. The AfD’s attempts to block the amendment through a constitutional complaint and a new Bundestag have failed.
The process, from the announcement to the media coverage and the vote, took only about two weeks. The coup was executed in rapid tempo, catching the public by surprise. The most significant financial implications of the debt brake’s relaxation are for expenditures that fall under an expanded defense concept. In effect, there is no longer a credit ceiling. This has raised concerns, with critics like the BSW likening it to war credits.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz made it clear in his Bundestag speech that it is primarily about war preparations. He spoke of “Putin’s attack on Europe” and a “war against our country that is taking place daily.” These are the “circumstances” that necessitate this “generational debt.” Just as the new government takes power, the country is plunged into a war hysteria and an escalatory spiral of military buildup. The natural question is: What does the German peace movement have to say about this development?
In Berlin, several organizations called for protests and rallies, with the BSW being particularly active. A rally took place in front of the Brandenburg Gate, with BSW foreign policy expert Sevim Dağdelen and a politician from the Left Party, Gesine Lötzsch, in attendance. About 600 people gathered.
On the day of the vote, several more rallies took place. Nine organizations, including the Berlin Peace Coordination, the Nature Friends and Pax Christi, called for a rally. Infrared reporter Artur Buchholz documented the action with a live stream, arriving a bit late and noting that about 150 people had gathered, mostly from the organizing groups, as he approached the rally. As he arrived, a speaker was drawing a comparison to the Nazi era, saying that the German army must be ready for deployment in four years and the German economy must be war-ready. This was not a new idea, the speaker said, as it was also the idea of Adolf Hitler in 1936.
A young woman carried white angel wings on her back and there were creative posters and banners, with people holding them stoically. The speeches alternated with musical interludes, featuring well-known anti-war songs by German and American songwriters. The protest action was carefully planned. “Stop the armament and do everything in your power to find a solution in conflicts” a speaker read from a DIN-A4 sheet. Was the mood lifted by the rock music and speeches on this gloomy day? The reporter asked the gathered crowd, “Why do you think so few people are here?” Two respondents said that working people had no time to come on a weekday, while an activist in early retirement blamed manipulation by the ruling class, saying that the ruling class had a hundred years to develop propaganda and the result was that people were captivated by the TV screen. This was a sleeping pill for the people and propaganda was overwhelming.