Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) believes that the German state is capable of paying down its national debt eventually. Speaking to the dts news agency on Wednesday, he stated that generating economic growth in the country would “naturally give us a chance to pay back the debt and repay the funds”.
Prior to making this statement, the Minister presented the established budget guidelines and the national financial plan extending through 2030. The figures reveal significant financial strain: interest payments alone are projected to soar from approximately 30 billion euros in 2025 to almost 80 billion euros annually by 2030. Correspondingly, the national debt is anticipated to rise from 2.0 to 2.7 trillion euros over the same period.
According to Klingbeil, there are currently no alternatives to increasing new debt, given the necessity for “structural reforms” that must first bring the country “back up to speed”. He acknowledged the vast responsibility facing Germany, but reiterated that while debt repayment will eventually resume, reaching a strong growth trajectory is crucial for doing so.
When pressed on predicting the recovery schedule starting in 2031-the first year after the current financial planning period-the Finance Minister remained cautious. He declined to name specific dates, citing too many unpredictable factors, such as the political situation in Iran and whether the war in Ukraine will end, all of which make making definitive predictions too risky.
