If the Greens follow through on their rejection of the plan, the decision would put Merz in a bind. His plans to effectively exempt defense spending from the country’s constitutional debt brake and create a €500 billion infrastructure fund require a two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament, or Bundestag. If the sitting parliament doesn’t agree, the far-right, pro-Kremlin Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and The Left, which opposes military spending, will have the strength to block the deal once the newly elected Bundestag convenes by March 25 at the latest.
But the Greens, who generally favor more spending for the military and infrastructure, say they will reject Merz’s plans — at least in their current format.
The Greens say they want guarantees that infrastructure spending will also go toward meeting Germany’s climate goals. Greens leaders in Berlin on Monday also portrayed the conservative-SPD deal as lacking seriousness and “real” proposals for investment.
“Who would have thought that we, as Greens, would ever have to push back against a proposal that uses debt not for investment, but to create fiscal space for other projects that have nothing to do with the future?” party co-chief Banaszak said.
Other Greens leaders echoed that criticism.
“Anyone who wants us to agree to more investment must also show that it is really about more investment in climate protection, more investment in the economy in this country,” said Katharina Dröge, co-chair of the Greens parliamentary group. “We are certainly not available for play money and that is why we will not agree to these proposals.”