this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2025
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Bro, these are not the conservatives you're looking for (i.postimg.cc)
submitted 5 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I'm fairly far left but the strong LINKE might actually fuck us over pretty hard. They are strong enough that they’re able to block increased defense spending together with the AfD in a time where increased national and European security might just be our most existential issue.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

They are strong enough that they’re able to block increased defense spending together with the AfD

Does Germany have some rules that defence spending requires a 2/3rds supermajority or something? Linke and AfD cannot stop anything on their own if a simple majority is required. The Union and SPD have a slim majority between them, and add the Greens and you've got an extremely strong majority.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

The only way the conservatives get the funding for increased arms manufacturing is by disabling/changing something about the debt ceiling.

Debt ceiling is in the basic law (constitution), which requires a 2/3 majority to be altered.

Linke are against the debt ceiling in general, but not if it's only disabled for military spending while still preventing investments in public infrastructure. I think with a bit of diplomacy and concessions in the wording, Linke can be persuaded here.

Edit: Or Merz can just say he doesn't want to change anything about the debt brake, OK. Saves him from negotiating anything I guess. Maybe the billions he needs will just fall out of the sky then.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

Oh yeah I've heard some commentators talking about the debt brake before, and how some are pushing to do away with it. It didn't occur to me that military spending would specifically be the sticking point there.