As of: February 24, 2024, 1:26 p.m
By: Hannes Niemeyer
Comments
Press
Split
Olaf Scholz wants to raise defense spending from the budget in the future.
The Greens and the SPD fear this would be an attack on the welfare state.
The next traffic light crisis is looming.
Berlin – For the first time in decades, Germany actually met the two percent target for arms spending agreed upon in NATO.
However, this was also possible thanks to the special fund for the Bundeswehr, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced after his famous “turning point” speech shortly after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
The war has now been going on for two years - here too, concerns are increasing that Russia's aggressive appetite could also extend into NATO territory.
Defense spending at the expense of the welfare state?
Economist warns – “Cannons and butter, that doesn’t work”
It is clear that Germany must continue to arm itself.
However, it is unclear how this will happen after the special fund has been used up.
Trouble is in the air.
Basis of the debate: If Olaf Scholz had his way, the NATO goal would also be met in the coming years.
“From 2028 onwards, we want to use the general budget to cover what is necessary to achieve the two percent target.
“It’s not easy, but we can manage it,” the Chancellor recently said in the
SZ
.
A plan that is not controversial.
For example, on the talk show “Maybrit Illner”, Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Green Party leader Ricarda Lang did not entirely agree on the topic.
Lang in particular warned that defense spending could come at the expense of the welfare state - after all, social spending takes up the largest part of the federal budget.
Top economist Clemens Fuest quickly took the wind out of the sails of the parallel compatibility of the welfare state and defense spending without savings at some points in the TV show, speaking of “guns and butter – it would be nice if that were possible.
But that’s a land of milk and honey, that’s not possible.”
Scholz wants to cover defense spending from the budget – at the expense of social spending such as pensions?
© IMAGO / Political-Moments + IMAGO / Bihlmayerfotografie + dpa |
Armin Weigel
Scholz wants to finance defense spending from the federal budget – is there a threat of another traffic light split?
Even outside of the TV talks, the debate - similar to the topics surrounding citizens' money or the payment card for asylum seekers - threatens to drive a further wedge into the traffic light coalition.
The SPD and the Greens in particular see Scholz's plans to finance defense from the budget without special funds as a direct attack on the social systems.
“The Social Democrats are not prepared to curtail the social security of families with children, trainees and students or pensioners in order to finance the necessary spending on security and defense,” said SPD leader Saskia Esken to the Funke newspapers. Media group.
But: “Germany is a rich country in which many very rich people live who can make a greater contribution to the common good and are sometimes willing to do so.”
“It shouldn’t mean: armament or pension”: The Greens and SPD see Scholz’s plan as an attack on the social system
The Green Party leader Britta Haßelmann is rather skeptical about Scholz's positioning.
“We will not achieve the high sums that are necessary (for defense) through savings quotas for each department,” she told the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
(Saturday).
“It shouldn’t mean: armament or pension.” The co-parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge argued similarly in the
Rheinische Post
(Saturday).
Haßelmann is therefore thinking about other financing options: “In addition to the discussion about reforming the debt brake, we also have to look for other options when it comes to special funds or investment companies in order to enable long-term investments.”
My news
Russia openly threatens to shoot down NATO jets – read “return of particularly aggressive attitude”.
Big blow for Russia: Ukraine shoots down rare aircraft
2 hours ago
Thorsten Frei (CDU) on the Ukraine war: “The Chancellor’s hesitation and hesitation is costing lives” read
High-tech from German forges: New horror for Putin's “strings of pearls” read
Behind the front line: Partisans poison Putin's election fraudsters in Mariupollesen
Russia escalates tensions on the border with Finland and sends thousands of refugees
The FDP chief budget officer Otto Fricke insists on savings.
“We have to stop always talking about priorities.
We can only stabilize the budget if we also identify subordinate areas.
“But that requires more political courage,” Fricke told the
Rheinische Post
.
“Social benefits represent by far the largest block of expenditure in the federal budget; in 2024 it will be around 46 percent of total expenditure,” he explained.
“It is important that their share does not increase any further and that there are no new benefits in order to have enough scope for the urgently needed economic turnaround.” Both are necessary: that Germany continues to achieve NATO’s two percent defense spending quota and at the same time provide new impetus for greater economic growth.
Meanwhile, it is not just the rearmament within Germany that is controversial.
There is also a heated debate in politics about military aid for Ukraine.
A Union proposal that explicitly included the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles was rejected in the Bundestag - but a prominent Ampel member had previously sided with the opposition.
(han/dpa)