German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday defended the compromise on the 2025 federal budget reached by his three-party coalition, despite scorn from the opposition.
A way had been found to finance aid to Ukraine while also meeting Germany’s own needs, Scholz told a meeting of his Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Weimar, southwest of Berlin.
“And that is why it is a good budget that the federal government has agreed to after a long time and a sleepless night,” said Scholz, who acknowledged that the three-party coalition had argued about it.
The leaders of the SPD, the Greens and the pro-business liberal FDP met overnight into Friday morning to reach an agreement on a draft budget after months of discussions.
Speaking at an SPD event to launch the campaign for Thuringia’s state elections 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 significantly,” he said.
Germany would also invest in its domestic and foreign security, Scholz said. Although the defense budget would increase by only €1.2 billion to €52 billion ($56 billion), Scholz insisted that the necessary funds would be set aside for defense and that the German military would be better equipped than in the past.
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, also from the SPD, had asked for an additional 6 billion euros.
In response to the budget deal, opposition leader Fridrich Merz predicted that the coalition would fall apart before the end of summer.
“We may well have to come to Berlin at short notice,” said the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), suggesting that parliament should convene during the recess.
“The three-party coalition is not stable enough to survive the summer,” he predicted in a speech in the Rheinische Post newspaper.
