Negotiations surrounding a potential reform of Germany’s debt brake are encountering hurdles, with the parliamentary group leader of the Left party, Ines Schwerdtner, urging the center-right Union faction to actively participate in securing the necessary two-thirds majority required for a constitutional amendment.
Schwerdtner, in a statement to the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, dismissed the Union’s declaration of incompatibility with the Left as a matter for the Union itself. The current governing coalition, comprised of the Social Democrats and the Greens, depends on the support of both the Left and the Green parties to achieve the required majority.
However, Schwerdtner reinforced the Left’s fundamental position, stating that political cooperation with the Union remains excluded due to fundamentally opposing ideological stances and concerns about the Union’s policies reportedly impacting social welfare programs. She emphasized that while the Left would accept responsibility in democratic processes, she expected the Union to do the same.
The Green parliamentary group leader, Katharina Dröge, expressed concern over the ongoing instability within the coalition, describing the situation as descending into “another round of chaos”. Dröge highlighted the Union’s prior commitment to reforming the debt brake and criticized what she described as efforts by Kanzleramtschef Thorsten Frei to obstruct the work of the debt brake commission. She warned that a questioning of the debt brake reform would represent a breach of promise.
Dröge underscored the impact of the current debt brake, characterizing it as an “investment brake” contributing to deteriorating infrastructure, stalled investment and a digital deficit. She asserted the urgency of a permanent investment rule enshrined in the constitution to facilitate future-oriented policy.