German Chancellor defends budget for 2025 in the face of opposition contempt

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday defended the compromise on the 2025 federal budget reached by his three-party coalition, in the face of contempt from the opposition.

A way has been found to finance assistance to Ukraine while financing Germany’s own needs, Scholz told a meeting of his Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Weimar, southwest of Berlin.

“And for that reason, it is a good budget that the federal government approved after a long time and a sleepless night,” said Scholz, acknowledging that the three-party coalition discussed it.

The heads of the SPD, the Greens and the pro-business liberal FDP held talks overnight into Friday morning to reach agreement on a draft budget after months of discussion.

Speaking at an SPD event at the start of its campaign for state elections in Thuringia in September, Scholz emphasized spending on children and families. There would also be investment in roads and railways, he noted.

“The federal government’s investment budget will increase sharply,” he said.

Germany would also invest in its internal and external security, Scholz said. Although the defense budget increased by only 1.2 billion euros to 52 billion euros ($56 billion), Scholz insisted that the necessary funds were being set aside for defense and that the German military would be better equipped. than in the past.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, also from the SPD, called for an additional amount of 6 billion euros.

Responding to the budget deal, opposition leader Fridrich Merz predicted that the coalition would collapse before the end of the summer.

“It could very well happen that we have to come to Berlin in a short space of time,” said the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), suggesting that parliament would have to meet during the recess.

“The three-party coalition is not so stable that it will last throughout the summer,” he predicted in statements to the Rheinische Post newspaper.