Germany seeks to invest in strength and resilience to restore public trust

Germany’s Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told the Bundestag that the country could no longer simply move from one crisis to the next. His proposed 2027 budget, he said, should invest in Germany’s strength and resilience while cutting spending that brings limited benefit to society.

“Getting by from crisis to crisis is no longer enough,” Klingbeil said. “We must strengthen our own strength and our own resilience in an uncertain world and take the political decisions necessary for that.” He called for consensus and a shared conviction that Germany now needed to take the steps required to move forward.

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Getting by from crisis to crisis is no longer enough. We must strengthen our own strength and our own resilience in an uncertain world and take the political decisions necessary for that.

The budget provides for €555.4 billion in spending and €118.7 billion in new borrowing. When special funds for the armed forces, infrastructure and climate protection are included, the borrowing total rises to €203.6 billion. Klingbeil said the aim was to restore confidence in Germany’s own strength.

He linked the budget debate to growing public doubts about politics and the state’s ability to solve problems. The loss of trust, he said, reflected the crises of recent years and was not limited to Germany. The government was taking the right steps, he argued, to make the country strong and sovereign enough that every crisis would not become an overwhelming challenge.

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If we succeed, we will regain faith that we can take control of our future.

“If we succeed, we will regain faith that we can take control of our future,” Klingbeil said, adding that confidence in the political center would also grow. His comments came two days after the far-right Alternative for Germany won 43.8% in regional elections in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, nearly 27 points ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative CDU.

Klingbeil said he wanted Germany to look back in ten years and conclude that it had made the right decisions when necessary, defended democracy against right-wing extremists, strengthened security in response to Vladimir Putin, revived the economy and created jobs. He also said the government had a duty to put the budget in order, control spending and cut aid and subsidies that benefited only a few.

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I want us to be able to look back in ten years and say that, when necessary, we made the right decisions.