BSW calls for easing of the "investment brake"

Dresden (dpa/sn) - Invest or stagnate? The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) in Saxony is calling for a change in financial policy in order to make investments on a larger scale possible. "The biggest problem in Saxony is a rusted investment brake. We want to loosen this brake on investment in order to finally get the cart back on the right track," said Sabine Zimmermann, head of the BSW in Saxony, to the German Press Agency.

Of course, the future state government must also pursue a solid budgetary policy overall. However, the state should not be driven to the wall with one eye open because it does not allow sufficient investment for the future of the people.

"After 30 years, financial policy in Saxony must once again safeguard the interests of our citizens - and ensure a functioning state. There is an enormous maintenance backlog and huge investment gaps in education, housing construction in the major cities and transport infrastructure. Hospitals have been sold and educational facilities have been given away from the public purse," said the politician. "Anyone who puts the brakes on investment as strongly as the CDU should not be surprised that people in the country see the ailing infrastructure as a failure of the state."

The Greens, SPD and Left Party have also repeatedly spoken out in favour of modernizing the debt brake. The CDU and AfD are against it. The current regulation only allows Saxony to borrow in absolutely exceptional cases. The last time this happened was in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. The repayment period in Saxony is only eight years, which is extremely short. An amendment to the constitution recently failed due to a lack of support from the ranks of the CDU.

Finance Minister Hartmut Vorjohann (CDU) had repeatedly warned against touching the debt brake in Saxony and financing investments through debt. "We don't need a reform of the debt brake. The simpler, clearer and more comprehensible it is for everyone, the better. If the Saxon constitution states that the budget must be drawn up without debt, that is a clear statement," is the minister's argument. According to him, the value of the debt brake lies in self-limitation.