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Helge Braun has his own suggestion to suspend the debt brake and to change the Basic Law for it.

He wrote on Twitter that his proposal was not aimed at "calling the debt rule into question", but "more binding than continuing with the emergency clause" to act.

He added: "I love (stylized by a heart emoji) the debt brake."

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The criticism from the Union before was harsh.

CSU boss Markus Söder had told WELT: “We are very skeptical about a permanent suspension of the debt brake.

That would be the wrong signal. ”Germany could not solve the economic consequences of the corona pandemic in the long term with higher debts or high taxes.

Rather, the country needs a coherent economic policy concept: "Germany stands for financial integrity, and we should stick to that."

Clear criticism came from the head of the CDU SME Association, Carsten Linnemann.

He strictly rejected Braun's proposal.

"The debt brake is one of the most important political disciplinary instruments that curb the state's willingness to spend," said Linnemann WELT.

Experience has shown: “If politics does not clearly bind itself to rules, there is no stopping it.” Such a constitutional change would be “a breach of the dam” for Linnemann and must be a “red line for the Union”.

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The Basic Law is clear, according to the deputy chairman of the Union parliamentary group: "For emergency situations such as an economic downturn caused by a pandemic, the credit limits are temporarily suspended - otherwise they must apply." Every citizen knows that in this crisis the belt has to be tightened.

“Of course, this also has to apply to the state, which already spent too much money before Corona.

A fundamental task and expenditure review is therefore overdue. "

There was also criticism in the Union-led countries.

Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) spoke out against suspending the debt brake by amending the Basic Law: “I think that removing the debt brake from the Basic Law for a certain period of time is problematic.

That would also send the wrong signal within the framework of the EU, ”Haseloff told WELT.

“We must not abandon the obligation to discipline spending.

The debt brake and the frugal housekeeping in recent years have only given us the chance to react appropriately to the pandemic, ”Haseloff continued.

Braun: "The debt brake will not be adhered to in the coming years"

Braun had proposed to suspend the debt brake anchored in the Basic Law for the coming years and called for a corresponding change in the Basic Law.

“The debt brake cannot be adhered to in the coming years, even with otherwise strict spending discipline,” wrote the CDU politician in a guest article in the “Handelsblatt”.

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"That is why it makes sense to combine a recovery strategy for the economy in Germany with an amendment to the Basic Law, which provides a reliable degressive corridor for new borrowing in the coming years and a clear date for the return to compliance with the debt rule."

Up until Braun's proposal, the Union had rejected demands from the SPD and the Greens, for example, to shake the debt brake.

CDU and CSU politicians had called for a return to the debt brake or even a balanced budget as early as 2022.

Due to the massive increase in new debt in the Corona crisis, the Bundestag has again suspended the debt brake for 2021.

Braun argues that exactly this annual decision is dangerous for budget discipline.

“This deviation from the debt rule should under no circumstances be legitimized in the coming years by annual individual decisions under Article 115 of the Basic Law.

That opens the door to the permanent relaxation of the debt rule, ”writes the CDU politician.

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It remains completely unclear how long the pandemic could be "a reasoning circumstance" for the suspension.

This means that there is no mechanism “that will reliably pave the way for a return to the debt rule and, in the medium term, also to the federal government's 'black zero' new debt”.

Braun emphasized that he sees the debt brake in itself as very important.

“In this crisis in particular, it has proven its worth because it laid the foundation for Germany to be financially capable of acting in the pandemic,” he writes.

"It is also important because of our role model function in Europe so that our common currency maintains its stability by returning to the Maastricht criteria."

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The background to this is the concern that other euro countries could become too indebted and thereby jeopardize the stability of the common currency.

Greens demand courage for "real reform"

For the Greens, Braun's proposal to suspend the debt brake for the coming years does not go far enough.

“The ideological front in the Union is crumbling.

That's good, ”said the budget spokesman for the Green Group, Sven-Christian Kindler, to the Reuters news agency.

"It is right not to jeopardize the economic recovery from 2022 by returning to the restrictive debt brake." However, one should not just tinker with the symptoms for the next few years.

"You should have the courage to really reform the debt brake," said Kindler.

This must make it possible for net investments to be financed through loans.

The Greens have long been calling for a reform of the debt brake, with which the federal government's new debt is limited to 0.35 percent of gross domestic product.

You combine that with the proposal of a new investment rule that would allow debt-financed investments.

"In view of the historically low interest rates and the investment backlog, the climate crisis and digitization, the state will have to invest significantly more in the coming years and decades," said Kindler.

He attacked finance minister and SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz.

“The debate is here now, but where is Finance Minister Olaf Scholz?” Said Kindler.

"The Federal Minister of Finance must not hide in this debate."

Kipping: "Not yet the necessary farewell to the investment brake"

The leader of the Left Party, Katja Kipping, criticized Braun's advance as insufficient.

“The debt brake is one thing above all: an investment brake and thus economically counterproductive.

It should be disposed of, ”said Kipping WELT.

"What the head of the Chancellery is proposing is a bit better than the Union's previous debt brake fetishism, but it is far from the necessary farewell to the investment brake."

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