An incoming government wants to borrow much more to revamp the economy and rebuild the military. That means a change in the country’s Constitution — and its culture.
The German Parliament narrowly approved a plan on Tuesday to loosen government borrowing limits, allowing it to spend heavily on defense and infrastructure to offset America’s pivot away from Europe and try to end years of economic stagnation.
In a special session of Parliament on Tuesday, 513 lawmakers voted for the plan, two dozen more than the two-thirds majority required to amend the Constitution.
It was not the final vote on the plan, which also faces legal challenges. But it was a crucial hurdle and its passage was celebrated by the centrist lawmakers who hope it will allow Germany to shoulder a more powerful leadership role at a critical moment for Europe.
The centerpiece of the plan, pushed by Friedrich Merz, the likely next chancellor, relaxes what is colloquially known as the “debt brake,” a limit on government borrowing that Germany enshrined in its Constitution.
That brake has reduced German debt, but it has also kept the government from investing in roads, software, bridges, tanks and other areas. Lawmakers say that spending is now urgently needed to address declining German competitiveness and shrinking American security guarantees.