Dietmar Bartsch, a budget expert from the Left, criticised the Greens for preparing to file a lawsuit against the 2025 budget at the Federal Constitutional Court. “It was the Greens who handed Merz and Klingbeil in the last Bundestag the tools to create the special fund” he told the ”Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” (RND). “Now complaining about the music that was played is dishonest, especially because the legal route is unavailable to them”.
He added that the decision not to fundamentally reform the debt brake and instead rely on shadow budgets and shifting the burden was a serious mistake that the Greens should be questioned about. Bartsch also denounced the fiscal policies of the black‑red coalition, arguing that neither the 2025 nor the 2026 budget manages citizens’ money honestly or responsibly, calling it “the biggest sham of the past decades”.
Deputy Green caucus chair Andreas Audretsch had claimed that billions earmarked for infrastructure and climate protection were instead spent on consumption and “the fossil past”. However, for a lawsuit at the Constitutional Court a quorum of at least 25 % of the Bundestag’s seats is required. Even together with the Left, the Greens lack that number; they would need the AfD but both parties refuse to collaborate.
According to the Greens, they are now seeking avenues for a constitutional complaint with civil society. They also note that in the previous Bundestag, together with the Union and SPD, they voted for a special fund of €500 billion and effectively suspended the debt brake for defense spending.