The new German Minister of Finance defends higher defense costs
|
Lars Kingbale, the next Vice -Central and Finance Minister of Germany, is an experienced MP from the Social Democratic Party, who has been in parliament for more than 15 years, but his expertise has been in defense, not in finance.
Now, as a guardian of the public finances of Germany, the 47 -year -old Klingbale will observe a large -scale expansion of defense costs following a decision by the retiring German government – under the strong pressure from the United States and the ongoing war of Russia in Ukraine – to bring out the investments in defense from the rules that limit loans.
The Hour of Truth for Germany
In March, the German parliament approved plans for a huge increase in costs, which included a special infrastructure fund of € 500 billion, rejecting decades of fiscal conservatism in the hope of reviving economic growth.
Klingbale has long been calling for the reform of the so -called. A debt brake that restricts public loans, saying that Germany is « on a completely wrong path ».
This contrasted with the opinion of his predecessor at the Ministry of Finance, the fiscal hawk Christian Lindner of the Liberal Party « Free Democrats », whose fierce defense of the debt brake played a key role in the collapse of the previous coalition led by the Social Democratic Party).
The Levcentrician SDP on Wednesday has officially supported the new coalition led by conservative Friedrich Mertz, opening the way to sworn in the next Tuesday. The SDP will officially nominate Klingbale for Minister of Finance on Monday. His colleague from the GDP Boris Pistorius will remain Minister of Defense.
Why Friedrich Merz is so unpopular in Germany
Known for its charismatic personality and strong communication skills, Clingbale is considered to be an rising star in the GDP and a potential future chancellor. He has been co -chair of the party over the last four years with Sascia Escaen.
Clingbale played a key role in negotiations with the Conservative Bloc of the CDU/CSU of Merz to reach a coalition agreement, but so far he was cautious in his public statements about the economy and how he would handle his new job.
- « Everything is subject to funding, » he said in a recent television interview while discussing the ambitious plans for public spending of the new coalition.
- In another interview with media groups from the Funke Media Group, Klingbale said the money should be spent « reasonably and effectively in the interests of citizens and the economy. »
His first main task will be to present a draft budget for 2025, which was delayed by the early elections in February, at which the SDP won only 16% of the vote (after the Merz Conservatives and the far -right « Alternative to Germany » (AFD).
The son of a military, Kingbale became a member of the Bundestag Defense Committee in 2009 and witnessed the consequences of insufficient investment in the country’s armed forces, which Mertz promises to end in an era where Europe can no longer automatically rely on US security guarantees.
Klingbale was born into a workers’ family in Zoltau, Lower Saxony Province in Northern Germany. He is an avid supporter of Bayern’s football team and played in the punk rock band Sleeping Silence in his youth.
As a former chairman of young socialists in his province, he is eager to modernize the Social Democratic Party and make it more attractive to younger voters, with the organization focused on issues such as climate change, social justice and income inequality.
« I want to work as a leader of a parliamentary group and as a party leader to guarantee that many young faces are also publicly visible, » Klingbale said after the February election.
In addition to managing Germany’s state finances and continues to be a joint leader of his party, Klingbale will face a new challenge in trying to weaken the growing attractiveness of the anti -immigrant Party Alternative to Germany, which he said is a « threat to democracy ».
