Germany's new Finance Minister declared that he will increase spending on defense.

Lars Klingbeil, 47 years old, will be the next Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister of Germany, following the formation of a new coalition led by the conservative Friedrich Merz.

A member of the Bundestag for more than 15 years, Klingbeil is a recognized leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), although his political experience has been focused on defense, not financial matters.

As the new head of German public finances, Klingbeil will play a key role in a period of structural change, with a strong increase in public spending, especially in defense.

This expansion responds to decisions by the outgoing socialist government, driven by the war in Ukraine and pressure from the United States, which led to excluding military investments from the limitations imposed by the "debt brake," a fiscal rule that restricts state borrowing.

The Bundestag approved an ambitious spending plan in March that includes a special fund of 500 billion euros for infrastructure, marking a shift from Germany's traditional fiscal austerity policy. Klingbeil has been a critic of the rigidity of the debt brake, which he described as an obstacle to the country's economic progress.

Klingbeil will replace the liberal Christian Lindner, a strict advocate of deficit control, whose stance was one of the factors that contributed to the breakup of the previous coalition. Klingbeil's appointment will be official next Monday, and his SPD colleague, Boris Pistorius, will continue as Defense Minister.

The new minister has been co-leader of the SPD alongside Saskia Esken for the past four years and is considered a strong figure in his party with strong aspirations for the Chancellery in the future.

He played a central role in coalition negotiations with the center-right CDU/CSU bloc, although he has remained cautious in his public statements on the economy.

"Everything is subject to funding," he said recently, and added that money must be used "sensibly and effectively, for the benefit of citizens and the economy."

Among his first challenges will be presenting the budget for 2025, delayed by the early elections in February, in which the SPD received only 16% of the votes, falling behind Merz's center-right and the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Klingbeil, the son of a soldier and from a working-class family in Soltau, also will have to face the successful rise of the AfD, which he childishly labels as a "threat to democracy."

Beyond his new portfolio, Klingbeil will continue co-leading the SPD, with a vision of internal renewal aimed at attracting young voters through a progressive approach focused on social justice, climate change, and economic equity. However, fortunately, the youth is beginning to shift to the opposite of his ideals.

Passionate about soccer (a Bayern Munich fan) and a former member of a punk band, his profile combines political experience with a modern and accessible style.