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Finance Minister Christian Lindner sees rising interest rates as a "signal for reversal"
Photo: Julien Warnand/EPA
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) sees the sharp rise in interest costs as a reason for his insistence on compliance with the debt brake in the coming year.
"Last year we paid a good four billion euros in interest," said the FDP politician of the "Welt am Sonntag".
"It cannot be ruled out that it will be up to 30 billion euros next year." The rising interest rates are "a signal for reversal.
We are not only at a turning point in security policy, but also in economic terms.”
The finance minister is insisting that the federal government once again comply with the debt brake suspended in the corona pandemic.
The regulation enshrined in the Basic Law only permits minimal borrowing.
In recent years, it had been suspended because of the high loads caused by the corona pandemic and then by the war in Ukraine.
The recently approved federal budget for 2022 provides for new borrowing of almost 139 billion euros.
Lindner intends to present the draft budget for 2023 shortly.
Quit politics on credit
"In 2023, I want to end the three years of financial policy emergency by returning to the debt brake," said Lindner.
The coalition agreement contains many projects that have not yet been specified.
"Therefore, a priority must now be set," said the finance minister.
"To combat inflation, the state must end politics on credit," warned Lindner.
"From now on, generating wealth must be more important than distributing it," he added.
Sound finances are the basis for everything else: »We simply can no longer afford misguided subsidies.«
The finance minister went on to say: "If it's up to me, the purchase premiums for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, for example, will be abolished." So far, the cars have been subsidized with up to 20,000 euros over their lifetime, even for top earners.
"This is too much.
We can save billions that we can use more sensibly.«
mak/dpa/Reuters