Scholz proposes US$106bil fund for Germany

FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks at a municipal congress, organised by DEMO, a social democratic magazine for local politics, in his first appearance following his return to Germany after the G20 Summit, in Berlin, Germany, November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt/File Photo

BERLIN: Chancellor Olaf Scholz raised the stakes in the campaign for Germany’s snap election by proposing an investment fund worth at least US$106bil to help pay for the country’s modernisation.

In a speech last Saturday at a Social Democratic Party (SPD) event in Berlin, Scholz said the fund, which could later be topped up, should include both public and private money and could be used for investment in areas such as energy infrastructure or home construction.