Robert Habeck, the Greens’ top candidate in the upcoming Germany elections, sees a need for state investments in the country initially totalling about €40 billion ($41.23 billion).
“We need approximately €40 billion plus or minus as upfront financing for this Germany fund over a longer period, about 10 years,” he said in Berlin in an interview with broadcaster RTL.
The idea of a debt-financed “Germany fund” is included in the Green party’s manifesto for the election scheduled to take place on February 23. This fund is intended to finance investments in areas such as schools or infrastructure.
The investment backlog in Germany is said to be in the three-figure billion range, it states.
“These are the missing investments in infrastructure, the crumbling bridges, the unrenovated schools, the unpunctual railway,” Habeck said.
The Greens plan to take out loans to get the country back on track.
The centre-right bloc, however, wants to finance everything from the current budget, which, he added, does not even add up mathematically.
