The report of the Federal Court of Auditors could not have appeared at a more suitable time. It must be a reminder to all those traffic light coalitions who are currently negotiating the third, billion-euro relief package for the fall. The funds in the federal budget are finite, according to the embassy.
In recent years, the government has only been able to maximize its financial leeway thanks to a number of budgetary gimmicks. The auditors of the Court of Auditors relentlessly demonstrate this in their report. According to this, the “real new debt” in the coming year will be a multiple of what the rule of the debt brake 2023 actually allows.
The way out cannot be to outsource more and more expenditure items to reserves and special funds, in order to then happily continue to incur debts there. The solution cannot be to abolish the debt brake itself in the coming years.
Both can only be demanded by those who expect the state to get the money for free – and who subscribe to the arrogant state understanding that neither entrepreneurs nor private taxpayers can use the money more sensibly and efficiently.
The criticism of the Federal Audit Office is primarily directed at the Federal Minister of Finance. Rightly so. Ultimately, he only pours in numbers what the entire federal government, all ministers together want. This is one thing above all: more and more of everything. This is even understandable, given that politicians are elected to implement their spending ideas.
However, one of the central tasks of a finance minister is to curb this urge to achieve things. He is the only minister who even has the right to veto this – and the debt brake. Christian Lindner has to ensure that the debt brake is adhered to without any peculiar accounting practices bypassing the budget.
More than ever, he needs to push for prioritization of spending. If there is nothing left, nothing can be distributed – or only if savings are made elsewhere. Gone are the days when politicians were able to saddle up more and more government services.