‚Unbegrenzte‘ Militärausgaben, ein Berg der Schulden und eine wackelige Koalition – wie Deutschlands Glücksspiel Europa umstellen konnte
https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/germany-merz-debt-reform-qxgrp8z5p?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Reddit#Echobox=1741363973
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This week, electrified by horror at the level of hostility from the Trump administration, he struck a deal to pursue one of his country’s most momentous reforms since it was reunified in 1990.
It includes a €500 billion slug of debt for infrastructure investment, roughly equivalent to Norway’s entire annual economic output.
Yet even that splurge could be dwarfed by a proposal to exempt military spending from the country’s constitutional lock on public borrowing. It is, in theory, a licence for an unlimited defence budget, constrained only by coalition politics and the whims of the bond markets.
Announcing the package on Tuesday evening, Merz briefly switched from German to English in an effort to convey the scale of its ambition: “Whatever it takes.”
What is the alternative? You have Russia, China, and now the US acting against EU interests. Europe will take a big hit from this new world order belligerent countries are shaping. Gone are days of suave charm offensives led by EU diplomats. We are back to explicit Bismarckean realpolitik– more stick, less carrot.