Merkel warns that business aid can’t last indefinitely

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 17,767 to 1,171,323, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday. The reported death toll rose by 255 to 18,772, the tally showed.

Earlier this week, DW reports that Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that the huge aid commitment made to tackle the coronavirus pandemic can’t last indefinitely.

In her weekly video podcast, Merkel said as a result of the health crisis the country now carries a very large debt burden, which would need to be paid off starting in 2023.

But she acknowledged that the cost to the German economy and society would have been “even higher” if the government had not stepped in with an unprecedented package of support to shore up businesses and the public. Since the beginning of the pandemic, it has been the federal government’s goal to “mobilize our country’s financial resources to counter the crisis,” she added.

Merkel said the huge sums committed both this and next year were only possible because the government had maintained a budget surplus in previous years.

The chancellor added that the grants and support programs offered by the state had created a “solid basis for the time when the pandemic is under control. Then, she said, the German economy should be in a good starting position to grow again quickly.

CDE via Reuters and DW (Reporting by Berlin Newsroom; Editing by Christopher Cushing)