Wegner positions himself against CDU leader Merz
After the ruling from Karlsruhe, the traffic lights are in a financial quandary. CDU leader Merz demands cuts and new priorities. Berlin's governing mayor is the first state leader to stab his party colleague in the back and demand a reform of the debt brake - immediately.
Following the recent Karlsruhe ruling, Berlin's governing mayor Kai Wegner is the first CDU head of government to call for an immediate reform of the debt brake in order to save important future spending. "Anyone currently in government and therefore responsible for drawing up budgets knows that the necessary investments simply cannot be financed from normal budgets. We therefore need new thinking and new courage," Wegner told Stern magazine. "The debt brake is a good idea in terms of sound finances. However, I think its current design is dangerous."
Wegner, who thus also opposes the course taken by party leader Friedrich Merz, warned urgently against believing that we can simply carry on after the Karlsruhe ruling. The debt brake is "increasingly becoming a brake on the future", criticized the CDU politician. "The ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court makes it clear how investment-inhibiting the current debt brake is - in view of the mega needs in climate protection, the crumbling traffic routes, the huge investment backlog in our schools, the neglected social infrastructure and the necessary restructuring of our energy supply. Without investment, not only will our roads, railways and schools crumble, without investment, the future of our country will crumble."
Wegner has also been critical of the debt brake in the past. However, he emphasized that he did not want to abolish the instrument in its entirety. "I understand the concern that some politicians would create debt upon debt," he told the magazine. That's why I don't want to remove the debt brake from the constitution, I want to make it future-proof in the constitution. There can only be loans for investments - loans for consumer spending are taboo."
Merz in favor of savings instead of debt brake reform
Last week, the Federal Constitutional Court declared the reallocation of 60 billion euros in the 2021 budget null and void. The money had been approved as a coronavirus loan, but was subsequently to be used for climate protection and modernizing the economy. At the same time, the judges ruled that the state may not reserve emergency loans for later years. As a result, further billions of euros for future projects are at risk. As the exact impact on the regular budget is still unclear, the Ministry of Finance decided to block certain commitments of all ministries for future years in the budget as a precautionary measure.
CDU leader Merz had previously said that he did not see "that we need to approach the debt brake" at the moment. He also rejected tax increases. Instead, he called on the traffic light to set priorities and make savings elsewhere in the budget. As examples, he cited the renunciation of basic child protection, the heating law and an increase in the citizen's allowance.
In response to Merz's call for budget savings, Wegner argued that the current design of the debt brake is impeding necessary investments in areas such as climate protection, infrastructure, and social services. He urged for a reform of the debt brake to allow for loans for investments while maintaining fiscal discipline. This position placed Wegner at odds with Merz, who advocated for savings instead of reforming the debt brake. Their differing views were highlighted by the recent ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court, which could potentially impact future financing for various projects.
Source: www.ntv.de
