State parliament rejects AfD motion on financial package

The Saxon state parliament has rejected a motion by the AfD on the billion-euro financial package proposed by the CDU/CSU, SPD and Greens in the federal government with a clear majority. This means that the government of Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) will not be called upon to reject the package at tomorrow's meeting in the Bundesrat.

At the request of the AfD, the MPs voted on the two parts of the motion individually. In both cases, there were significantly more no votes.

The first part, in which a long-term threat to Germany's creditworthiness is claimed and the timeframe of the legislative procedure is described as "constitutionally dubious", was rejected by all parliamentary groups except the AfD. The BSW parliamentary group voted in favor of the second part together with the AfD. It calls on the government to reject the financial package in the Bundesrat and to work to ensure that no resolution is passed.

This is what the federal financial package envisages

The CDU/CSU, SPD and Greens want the Basic Law to be amended in several places:

• Expenditure on defense, civil protection, intelligence services and cyber security should only fall under the debt brake up to a limit of one percent of gross domestic product. Anything above this can be paid for with loans.
• The federal states are to be given more leeway to take on their own debt.
• A special fund for investment in infrastructure and climate neutrality amounting to 500 billion euros is to be enshrined in the Basic Law. The federal states are to receive 100 billion euros.

The Bundestag approved the package on Tuesday. The vote in the Bundesrat will follow on Friday.