Germany's Scholz warns of taking on more debt to aid economy

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has countered calls for further large-scale support for the economy by pointing to the tight budget situation.
"An international magazine has said that Germany would have to take on a lot of debt. And honestly, those who are discussing it in Germany are not saying that sentence," Scholz told Deutschlandfunk on Saturday. He did not state the name of the publication.
"But that we are now basically getting into a mode where €100 billion in debt per year is somehow such a normal thing, I don't think that would be a good idea."
If the economy does not want the debt brake to be lifted, then it must also say "that it is good that we support the economy on a large scale," but not with such hundred-billion programmes, he said.
Germany's overall public debt reached a record high of €2,368 billion ($2,596 billion) last year, translating to a debt of €28,164 per person, the Federal Statistical Office reported in July.
The highest level of debt Germany ever recorded can be attributed to the high funding needed in the pandemic years and the current energy crisis prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.