A former leader of the German Green Party, Ricarda Lang, has sharply criticized the way Friedrich Merz handled the reform of the debt brake. “What Friedrich Merz did is a scandal” she said in an interview with the German news magazine “Spiegel” on Tuesday. Merz, according to Lang, had watched as the coalition government fell apart over the issue of funding, simply because the necessary funds were lacking.
Lang recalled that she had been told by CDU politicians behind closed doors a year ago that the current debt brake was no longer governable and that it would be changed as soon as they were in power. “I told them at the time: You can’t do that” she said. “You can’t pretend for another year in the election campaign that the debt brake is a symbol of intergenerational fairness.”
Meanwhile, former CDU leader Armin Laschet expressed skepticism about reforming the debt brake with the majorities of the old Bundestag. “I think it’s possible” he said. “In practice, it can be done.” The question, he added, is whether the citizen would not then ask why it is being done.
The key, according to Laschet, is what the debt brake is being relaxed for. He finds it sensible to do so for defense purposes. In areas such as education, climate protection and infrastructure, he is more reserved. “In the TV duels, everything was justified: We’re making huge debts again, but then there’s no brake left” he said.