The third relief package can be incorporated into next year's budget without having to suspend the debt brake again.

That's what Parliamentary State Secretary for Finance Florian Toncar (FDP) said when he presented the draft budget to the Bundestag on Tuesday.

The debt rule is not a fetish, it was once decided by a two-thirds majority in the Bundestag and Bundesrat, so it deserves respect.

Manfred Schaefers

Business correspondent in Berlin.

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Toncar recalled that the share of government debt in gross domestic product rose to more than 80 percent during the financial crisis.

In a decade it was then reduced to less than 60 percent.

This is how one was able to govern effectively in the pandemic.

The FDP politician represented Finance Minister Christian Lindner (also FDP), who was prevented from attending a family funeral.

Precise landing expected for debt

According to Toncar, fighting inflation must be the top priority of fiscal policy.

Even with a total of 95 billion euros, the federal government will not be able to compensate for all the consequences of the extreme increase in energy prices, he said with a view to the three relief packages.

"We are experiencing skyrocketing energy prices and inflation in Germany of 7.9 percent in August while economic growth is declining sharply at the same time."

Until the end of the week, MPs will debate the bill that the cabinet passed before the summer recess.

He envisages spending 445 billion euros next year, 50 billion euros less than this year.

Net borrowing is to be limited to 17.2 billion euros - that would correspond exactly to what the debt rule in the Basic Law allows.

The values ​​are subject to change.

On the one hand, the decisions of the coalition committee still have to be incorporated, on the other hand, the general economic data have to be updated in the autumn.

On November 10, the budget committee wants to finally bend over the figures.

The Bundestag could then decide on the budget on November 25th.

criticism from the opposition

Union parliamentary group leader Mathias Middelberg pointed out the long-term consequences of borrowing in the subsequent debate.

Unlike in the time without interest, you get to feel the costs again.

Last year, the loans would have cost the federal government 4 billion euros.

This year it is already 16 billion euros, and next year it should be almost 30 billion euros.

This shows how room for maneuver would be stalled "if you continue to incur debt".

The CDU politician criticized the fact that the social security funds were not able to cope with their income despite record employment.

The budget spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Dennis Rohde, advocated not leaving people alone in the crisis.

What is needed is a state "that is willing to secure jobs and jobs, that is ready to help citizens with the exploding energy prices".

In view of the overlapping crises, his colleague from the Greens, Sven-Christian Kindler, spoke of the “toughest budget deliberations in decades”.

AfD MP Peter Boehringer predicted that the coalition would have to adopt a supplementary budget in 2023 because of the "energy cost explosion".

The deputy leader of the Left Group Gesine Lötzsch called for a more social budget.