The primary center-right party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), their Bavarian counterpart the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) have moved closer to their aim of forming a coalition government. This advancement was facilitated by Friedrich Merz, the CDU’s leading figure and the likely future Chancellor, who made significant concessions to the Green Party in order to gain support for his proposed investment program, worth hundreds of billions of euros.
Merz’s proposal would not have been feasible without the participation of the Green Party, who, having suffered losses in the recent federal election, will soon be entering opposition. The agreed budget plans involve an additional €500 billion in debt for investments in infrastructure, a move necessitating a constitutional amendment that can only be passed with a two-thirds majority in both houses of the German parliament. To achieve this, the CDU/CSU group and SPD required the Green Party’s votes in the Bundestag, the lower house, on Tuesday, March 18.
The Green Party insisted that €100 billion of the financial package should be allocated to the Climate Transformation Fund, a demand that was eventually approved.
The inclusion of €100 billion for the Climate Transformation Fund in the draft amendment to the constitution was a critical point of debate, with some arguing that climate neutrality by 2045 is now a national goal enshrined in the constitution, potentially prioritizing climate protection over other infrastructure projects. However, legal experts Udo Di Fabio, a former judge at the Federal Constitutional Court, and constitutional law professor Christian Calliess, argue that the wording merely clarifies a portion of the special infrastructure fund is dedicated to climate protection, without making it the sole objective.
Despite the Green Party’s triumph, concerns have been raised by other politicians about the extent of Merz’s concessions, with fears that the investments might conflict with the 2045 climate protection target, potentially leading to a surge in legal challenges against the state.
While the Green Party is celebrating what could be its biggest victory since entering a governing coalition with the FDP and SPD in 2021, the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic fund’s reallocation and budget disputes contributed to the collapse of the previous center-left government in the fall of 2022.
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Source: https://www.dw.com/en/german-parliament-approves-massive-investment-plan-with-green-party-backing/a-71960695?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
