Germany’s incoming chancellor is facing accusations of betraying voters after bending to the leftist demands on spending and climate to push forward fresh defence spending.
Despite the agenda of the formerly governing Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens being resoundingly rejected by German voters in last month’s federal elections, the incoming and supposedly centre-right-led government of Christian Democratic Union (CDU) boss Friedrich Merz continues to cave to their demands after rejecting a coalition with the populist right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD)
On Tuesday, the Bundestag parliament will vote on a change to the German constitution to lift debt-spending restrictions to allow for a trillion-euro package on defence and infrastructure, public broadcaster DW reports.
After the Greens shot down the initial proposals last week, Merz agreed to commit €100 billion of the €500 billion earmarked for infrastructure over the next 12 years to “climate protection.”
Going further, the incoming chancellor also capitulated to demands that a commitment for “additional investments to achieve climate neutrality by 2045” be written into the constitution.
On Sunday, Merz said of the bill: “I’m not Chancellor yet. But I can guarantee you: I certainly won’t be a Green. But a chancellor who faces environmental responsibility.”
While Merz and the CDU/CSU are currently in coalition talks with the SPD to form a “black-red” government, it is expected that talks could last until Easter or longer before a new government takes hold in Berlin.
However, the incoming chancellor is attempting to institute the constitutional changes before the new parliament even convenes on March 25. Therefore, an extraordinary session has been scheduled for Tuesday to hold the vote.
The urgency to pave the way for the trillion euro package is driven by the change of the makeup of the parliament next week, when the Alternative for Germany and the radical Die Linke (The Left) party will have enough seats to block the constitutional reforms.
Yet even under the current makeup of the Bundestag, and that changes to the Basic Law of Germany require a two-thirds vote, the Green Party is in a position to block the bill and thus was able to demand more concessions from the supposedly centre-right Merz.
Commenting on the deal, AfD leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla said in a joint statement on Friday: “Friedrich Merz has once again been taken for a ride and has bowed to the demands of the Green Party’s election losers. The Greens have apparently won their demands across the board in talks with the CDU/CSU and SPD. The outcome of the negotiations shows once again that Friedrich Merz is willing to pay any price to move into the Chancellery. This does not bode well for our country.
“Friedrich Merz is bending the constitution, disrupting public finances, and robbing current and future taxpayers in order to buy himself a chancellorship at the mercy of the Green-Left Party. That’s not what the citizens voted for three weeks ago.”
The major concessions on the green agenda come after Merz capitulated to the leftist Social Democrats on migration in preliminary coalition talks, such as walking back on strict border controls, as well as extending SPD initiatives like reducing the time it takes to become a citizen.
Having steadfastly ruled out partnering with the anti-mass migration AfD, Merz effectively handed all bargaining power to the SPD, which will have the ability to collapse his government at any point.
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