Enlarge image
Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court (archive image)
Photo: Uli Deck / picture alliance / dpa
The federal government is defending itself against the constitutional complaint brought by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group.
The allegation against the traffic light coalition is that it is misusing state funds, which were actually intended to combat the corona pandemic, to finance its political agenda.
The government is now arguing that the transfer of 60 billion euros in unused loans to the energy and climate fund is an active contribution to fighting inflation.
This emerges from the statement of the two federal prosecutors, which is available to SPIEGEL.
Government reportedly has considerable leeway
Law professors Alexander Thiele and Joachim Wieland consider the traffic light’s procedure to be fully constitutional: the federal government has considerable leeway in its efforts to support the economy during the pandemic.
You have the right “to pursue general transformational goals as part of the fight against the crisis”, such as converting the economy to climate neutrality.
There is "no constitutional requirement to restore the economy exactly to the way it existed before the crisis".
In this way, state funds also stimulated private investment: the increasing supply in the economy as a whole could have “favourable, weakening effects on the inflation dynamics triggered by the pandemic”.
In addition, according to the lawyers, the necessary national debt will not be at the expense of later generations.
The argument: If the government refrains from making the necessary investments in climate protection now, the country will have to make significantly greater efforts in a few years.
In addition, loans are currently comparatively cheap, and later generations may have to pay higher interest rates.
In addition, the attorneys-at-law are convinced that the federal government has provided for a “comprehensive repayment rule”.
It ensures “that there is no permanent increase in national debt”.
If the coalition were to make budget cuts or raise taxes instead of taking on more new debt, the consequential economic damage would be much greater.
rei
