To pass the package of three constitutional amendments, Merz needs to secure a two-thirds majority in parliament. When the newly elected Bundestag convenes March 25, the far-right, pro-Kremlin Alternative for Germany (AfD) and The Left — which opposes increased military spending — are likely to block the amendments. Merz must thus secure the Greens’ backing in the coming days.
For them, ongoing negotiations with the CDU/CSU and the SPD present their final chance to secure policy concessions before moving into the opposition.
To win the Greens over, Merz pledged that defense spending, of which debt limits above 1 percent of gross domestic product shall be lifted, would be expanded to include intelligence services costs and civil protection — a demand the Greens had pushed for in negotiations. He also promised to allocate €50 billion from the proposed €500 billion infrastructure fund to climate policies.
Nevertheless, Greens parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge remained unconvinced. “I will negotiate until the end for climate protection to play an appropriate role in this country,” Dröge said during the debate Thursday. “But that does not mean climate protection in name only. And it doesn’t mean playing tricks,” she added referring to concerns that the €50 billion earmarked for green investments be shifted from existing funds without freeing up new money for climate investments.
With a vote expected Tuesday, followed by Bundesrat approval next Friday, expectations are running high for an agreement to be reached among the three parliamentary groups this week. While no major obstacles are expected in the Bundesrat — which represents Germany’s 16 regions — failure in the Bundestag would derail the entire spending deal.
In light of that delicate time frame, a note of desperation crept into Merz’s appeal to the Greens: “What more do you actually want in such a short time span than what we have suggested to you in the talks over the last few days?”