The German Greens have agreed to support the plans of Germany’s likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who wants to take on a massive €1 trillion debt to boost defence and infrastructure.
At a news conference on Friday, March 14th, Merz, the leader of the centre-right CDU party, announced that following negotiations with the Greens, they agreed that €100 billion will be channeled to the government’s existing climate and transformation fund, and the parameters for defence spending will be expanded to include aid to Ukraine and intelligence.
“There will no longer be a lack of financial resources to defend freedom and peace on our continent. Germany is back. Germany is making a major contribution to defending freedom and peace in Europe,” Merz said.
As we previously reported, Merz wants to invest up to €1 trillion in the country’s defence capabilities over the next decade—half of it directly in the armed forces and the other half in wider defence infrastructural development.
In a debate surrounding the issue in the parliament on Thursday, March 13th, the Greens accused Merz of twisting the facts about threats to Europe’s security to justify a borrowing spree intended to fund tax cuts to please his own voter base, while neglecting the Greens’ pet issues of climate change and poverty.
On Friday, however, the CDU leader gave in to the demands of the Greens whom he needs for a two-thirds majority in parliament.
His centre-right CDU party already has the backing of the Social Democrats (SPD) with whom they are trying to form a government following the elections on February 23rd. With these concessions, the CDU leader has completely abandoned the conservative policies he vowed to pursue during the election campaign. In order to form a government with the SPD and receive the backing of the Greens, he has given in to left-wing demands and betrayed his voters on issues such as migration, climate issues, and the budget.
The right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and the far-left Die Linke have criticised Merz for undemocratically trying to bypass the newly elected parliament, which does not convene until March 25th—and where he does not have the required two-thirds majority. Instead, he wants to push through his plans in the outgoing parliament in a vote next Tuesday, March 18th.
The AfD accused Merz of ignoring the democratic will of the people, and said Merz has “no principles” and “no values.”
Both parties have filed lawsuits with the Constitutional Court to block the special sessions of the outgoing parliament.
