Ahead of the budget deliberations in the Bundestag, Mathias Middelberg, Deputy Chairman of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group, has issued a warning regarding the consequences of increasing national debt, calling for severe austerity measures in the coming years. Middelberg told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” that the current fiscal state is unsustainable, stating, “We are living extremely beyond our means. Every third Euro we spend is financed by borrowing. We must cut spending much more strictly.”
Looking at the budget for 2027, which is projected at 640 billion euros including special funds, more than 200 billion euros of this amount are planned to be covered by new loans. The CDU politician cautioned that such a high level of debt poses a significant long-term danger. “We could lose our top credit rating. That would increase interest rates, which over time would drive up general prices-to the detriment of all consumers,” he warned. He also forecasts that the debt ratio will exceed 30 percent in the following years.
Due to these projections, Middelberg emphasized that austerity efforts must be substantially intensified. Building on a preliminary round of spending suggestions that took place this summer, he demanded that “this garden-mower spending round” must be quickly revisited and executed with greater ambition for future budgets.
Specifically, he proposed significantly reducing subsidies, even those designated for climate protection. Middelberg stressed that programs marked “Climate” should not be off-limits. He argued that certain measures lack demonstrable efficiency, noting that excessive funding for electric buses or heat pumps can simply drive up prices and potentially increase the costs of necessary transitions. He suggested that phasing out subsidy rates would encourage competition for more efficient solutions, allowing the country to achieve greater climate protection while spending less.
