Overview

• Berlin’s House of Representatives opened debate on a 2026/27 double budget of about €44 billion per year, drawing protests of roughly 4,000 people as the coalition plans higher spending and new borrowing enabled by the reworked debt brake.
• Finance Senator Stefan Evers defended the draft as measured savings paired with investment, citing surging social transfers, refugee-related costs and higher public-sector pay as key spending drivers.
• Opposition parties labeled the plan irresponsible and warned of a future “financial wreck,” with Greens and Left demanding steadier revenues instead of cuts to services from environmental programs to street outreach.
• On Maybrit Illner, CDU leader Jens Spahn pressed for stricter Bürgergeld rules and sanctions, while Left leader Heidi Reichinnek rejected cuts and urged heavier taxation of wealth and inheritances.
• Economists Jens Südekum and Veronika Grimm called for rapid, de‑bureaucratized investment to lift growth, cautioning that Bürgergeld changes would yield limited savings, as a separate dispute over refugee crime claims and a 40:0 youth match spurred polarization and local rule changes.