200 billion arms deal bypasses Bundestag – SPD “ready for anything”

Even before the new Bundestag is constituted, CDU leader Friedrich Merz is pushing for a special fund for the Bundeswehr amounting to 200 billion euros. Details are said to have already been negotiated in a meeting with the incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the chairman and future parliamentary group leader of the SPD, Lars Klingbeil.

Officials from the CDU and SPD wanted to discuss on Tuesday "ways to circumvent the strict limits on German national debt and free up funds for the country's ailing army," people familiar with the matter told the business service Bloomberg ahead of the meeting . Merz apparently wants to "decide on a vote on the new package, which would be twice as high as the one approved three years ago," in the Bundestag, the anonymous source continued. The vote is to take place now because the AfD and the Left Party have a blocking minority in the new Bundestag.

The Left: Will not vote for rearmament

The outgoing SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich believes that a reform of the debt brake or the establishment of a new special fund is still possible through the old Bundestag. "We are ready for anything," said Mützenich on Tuesday before a meeting of the current and new SPD MPs in Berlin. But he also made it clear that he considered such an approach to be politically questionable and blamed CDU leader Friedrich Merz for it.

From a political and democratic legitimacy perspective, Mützenich called such financial policy decisions by the old Bundestag "a balancing act." He spoke of an approach "based on tactical considerations" that people would not understand. He accused Merz of throwing his previous position overboard "in just a few hours" after the election. He did not expect anything good "if that is the style of the new government."

Merz's actions are highly controversial. So far, the Bundestag has only met once again, although new elections had already taken place. In October 1998, a majority voted in favor of NATO's war of aggression against what was then Yugoslavia, which was in violation of international law.

The Left, whose votes in the newly elected Bundestag are likely to prevent Merz's plan from failing, criticized the approach. Group leader Heidi Reichinnek told the Berliner Zeitung: "As the Left, we have always been against the debt brake and will of course continue to campaign for its abolition or at least a far-reaching reform - but we will under no circumstances agree to a sham that is only designed to enable more armaments." Instead, extensive investments in education, infrastructure and the transformation of industry are needed, added Reichinnek. "It is telling that the Union has blocked every attempt to complete legislative initiatives that have already begun, in particular the deletion of Paragraph 218, and is now suddenly trying to push through a special fund for the Bundeswehr."

Economist Südekum: Merz's plan could fail in Karlsruhe

The Green Party's parliamentary group leader, Katharina Dröge, signaled her approval of the armament plans, but criticized the CDU's approach. It was bitter that Merz had rejected a reform of the debt brake with a two-thirds majority of the Union, SPD and Greens before the federal election for party tactical reasons, because this was urgently needed in view of the challenging security situation. From the Green Party's point of view, however, investments in more climate protection, the upgrading of infrastructure and for the economy are also necessary, Dröge continued. Reforming the debt brake is smarter than creating a special fund for defense, and then one for the economy and infrastructure.

Budget expert Jens Südekum pointed out that a change to the Basic Law in the old Bundestag would be in danger of being overturned by the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. Merz should instead present a concrete reform package that would find the necessary two-thirds majority. After all, he only needs the votes of six members of the Left Party to reach the quorum, wrote the economist from Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf on X.