The leader of Germany's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) Friedrich Merz said he could be open to reforming the debt brake, which limits public deficit to 0.35% of gross domestic product, in certain circumstances.

The collapse of Germany’s ’traffic light’ coalition government headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz has thrown the focus on opposition leader Friedrich Merz. The 68-year-old, who leads the Christian Democratic Union (CDU),

Conservative chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz said he’s open to reform Germany’s strict borrowing limits as long as additional debt-financed spending is used for investment.

Germany's conservative opposition leader and possible next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said further discussions on policy must wait until after a confidence vote is held on Dec. 16, following the collapse of incumbent Olaf Scholz's coalition.

German opposition leader Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday he was open to reforming the country's constitutional brake on government spending. Merz, widely seen as the favourite to succeed Chancellor Olaf Scholz after next year's parliamentary elections,