“Even though the budget for the coming year is now on its way, we must not relent in reforming the debt brake. It requires a broad political majority for this step,” Miersch told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND). A two-thirds majority in the Bundestag is needed to change the debt brake. Miersch appealed: “We should promptly establish a federal-state working group to develop an update of the debt rule in an alliance of progressive forces.”
The SPD politician also relies on politicians from the Union, such as Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner, who are distancing themselves from the course of their party leaders Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Markus Söder (CSU) against a reform of the debt brake. “Against this background, I welcome the recent efforts, particularly from the conservative camp, to further develop the debt brake into a modern debt rule,” Miersch told RND. He called for working together to find a balanced solution that would enable Germany to tackle the upcoming “mega-challenges.” “This can only be done if we remain capable of action,” he warned.
The need is enormous: “We need to advance in education, heat infrastructure, network infrastructure, railway expansion, digitization, renewable energies, and the promotion of sustainable technologies, and also in nursing infrastructure.” Such investments are money well spent to keep the country economically strong. Miersch warned: “Saving at the wrong end, has doubly and triply consequences. Generational justice is also measured by whether we leave future generations with intact infrastructure and a liveable environment.”
