Budget 2024: Merz threatens traffic lights with another constitutional complaint

Budget crisis - Budget 2024: Merz threatens traffic lights with another constitutional complaint

CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz has threatened the traffic light coalition with a new constitutional complaint if the debt brake is also suspended for the 2024 budget. "In my view, there is no reason to declare an emergency again now," the CDU chairman told the German Press Agency in Berlin.

A possible motion by the coalition would of course be looked at closely. "But if it came to pass as decided at the SPD federal party conference, then we would certainly seriously consider a new lawsuit in Karlsruhe."

SPD advocates suspension of the debt brake

At the party conference at the weekend, the SPD advocated suspending the debt brake for 2024 as well. "Constitutional leeway for the budget" must be used in the interests of the population, the delegates decided. Politically, the war in Ukraine had created the conditions for an emergency situation that would allow more borrowing. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) have been struggling for days to find a solution to the budget crisis.

Merz said that he could no longer understand why the government was unable to make a decision on the 2024 budget. "This is at best a self-inflicted emergency on the part of the federal government. It has little to do with the external circumstances and a lot to do with the internal state of the federal government." Merz explained that the CDU/CSU could decide very quickly on a possible new lawsuit. "Our legal representative is on standby." In mid-November, the Federal Constitutional Court declared a reallocation of 60 billion euros in the 2021 budget null and void following a lawsuit by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. This triggered the budget crisis.

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1. The traffic light coalition, comprising SPD, Green, and FDP parties, is currently grappling with a budget crisis for the 2024 budget.
2. Friedrich Merz, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader, has hinted at launching a new constitutional complaint if the debt brake is also suspended for the 2024 budget.
3. Merz's stance is in response to the SPD party conference, where delegates approved the suspension of the debt brake for 2024 in the face of the budget crisis.
4. The CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader criticized the government for not making a decisive move on the 2024 budget, labeling it as an "internal state of the federal government" issue.
5. The Federal Government, led by the SPD and its coalition partners, has been under pressure to find a solution, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck, and Finance Minister Christian Lindner working tirelessly to resolve the crisis.
6. Merz referred to the recent decision by the Federal Constitutional Court, which declared a 60 billion euro reallocation in the 2021 budget null and void following a lawsuit by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group.
7. The threatened lawsuit, if Merz follows through, would be filed at the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, reflecting the significant influence of legal challenges on German budgetary policy.
8. The SPD's stance on suspending the debt brake has faced opposition from the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, mirroring the larger political landscape in Germany which has been marked by increasing division between traditional parties.
9. Merz's constitutional complaint could add another layer of complexity to the ongoing budget crisis, as well as potentially impacting broader issues such as Government finances, household budgets, and Germany's national debt.

Source: www.stern.de