
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner has been calling since 2023 for the end of billions of aid packages for the German economy. So end the relentless delivery of aid and subsidies, which began mainly with pandemics.
From next year, according to him, Germany must respect the debt brake, which it has in its constitution. The debt brake allows new annual debts of up to 0.35% of Germany's GDP. According to the German Finance Ministry, this way of action is the right answer to weak economic growth and inflation.
This is the essence of a strategic document, finally presented by the Federal Ministry of Finance. On Tuesday after consultations in Brussels with EU finance ministers, Lindner urged a rapid normalization of debt intake. He said "we don't need conjuncture stimulation" because the situation is different from the coronavirus pandemic.
The same argument Lindner also presented in his Ministry's strategic document, where he draws attention that the order books of many German enterprises are filled.
This attitude has attracted attention. It is not yet a decision of the German government, but of a position of the Federal Ministry of Finance, one of the central ministries in the German government. This minister is run by a conservative Liberal minister, Christian Lindneri, the only one with a right-wing profile between the two leftist parties in the German government coalition.
The strategic document, mentioned above, has yet to be coordinated with the other ministries, which are held by the Social Democrats and the Greens. But the fact that Lindner proclaimed the strategic document speaks to the German government's tendency. Such a step is not done without agreement. He does not only serve his FDP party, which, after 56 years, is leading the Ministry of Finance for the first time.
The plan has been put at the centre of criticism from many local and international experts and institutions. The IMF said through a statement that the move to curb debt at a time of energy price crisis is not a smart move and it would hit the German economy by pipped it into recession.