The constitution obliges the federal government to create armed forces for defense.

In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the government admitted that German policy had failed.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has now announced a turning point.

It should produce an efficient, highly modern and progressive Bundeswehr, and even more: the most effective army in Europe.

To this end, the federal government is increasing the defense budget to two percent of gross domestic product, including: an extra pot of 100 billion euros for armaments projects.

Whether this "special fund" and the larger defense budget will make Scholz's ambitions a reality is still completely open.

The federal government could do a lot of things right with this.

But she could also do everything wrong and burn an unimaginable amount of taxpayer money: if the announcements are projected up to the year 2031, it is about 770 billion euros.

In principle, given the magnitude of the challenge, it is absolutely correct to initially combine higher defense spending with a special fund.

Because that would solve the three biggest problems in equipping the Bundeswehr: First, the armed forces were underfinanced for decades, measured by Germany's commitments to its allies in NATO and the EU.

Above all, there is a lack of modern and militarily quick-witted equipment, the troops are in need of rehabilitation.

Secondly, the increases in the defense budget since the first Ukraine war in 2014 have not been able to adequately remedy the grievances.

Because the funds came at short notice with the annual budget and the amount was unpredictable.

No long-term projects can be financed solidly with this.

And third, the federal government's budget forecasts mostly indicated cuts or a constant but not increasing budget in the following years.

Under these conditions, the Bundeswehr was only able to repair here and there, but under no circumstances could it be rehabilitated.

The package now enables the Bundeswehr to fill many gaps in one fell swoop, increase orders and start projects

A short financial firework does not help

But the whole thing is not enough.

The troops also urgently need financial predictability over a period of ten to 15 years.

This is the approximate lifespan for major weapon systems worth billions, such as airplanes or new helicopters, which form the backbone of a powerful army.

The “special fund” should also remedy the lack of sustainable financing and planning security.

However, this presupposes that the special pot could be stretched over years instead of just igniting a short financial fireworks display.

The Bundestag still has to decide on this.