Overview

• Michael Hüther accuses the federal government of using special funds as a visible shifting operation that removes the intended additionality of investment, especially at the state level.
• He says the issue is not the debt volume but its use, insisting that long-term investments can be credit-financed while consumptive expenditures must come from tax revenues.
• Capital reports that Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil plans roughly €850 billion in new borrowing through 2029, a figure Hüther warns must be governed by strict use criteria.
• Hüther criticizes a poorly prepared Union and alleges an SPD-led finance ministry is relying on tricks, while rejecting claims that this validates opposition to reforming the debt brake.
• He urges clearer rules, including tax-budget funding for defense and structural reforms such as a pension age linked to life expectancy and measures to bolster labor supply, to lift Germany’s growth trend.