German Finance Minister will push for sound public finances

The incoming German Finance Minister Christian Lindner promised on Tuesday that he would push for sound public finances and debt reduction throughout the eurozone so that the European Central Bank (ECB) can fight inflation without hesitation if necessary. Lindner posted his comments on the social network Twitter the day after a preliminary estimate showed that consumer price inflation in Germany accelerated again in November and reached its highest rate in almost three decades. "Inflation is a legitimate concern. In the event of a currency devaluation, we will be watching how it develops after the pandemic," Lindner wrote on Twitter. Lindner was nominated for the business-oriented Free Democrats party, which agreed to join a three-party coalition with the center-left Social Democrats and the Greens. The future minister also said that there would be no tax increase in Germany. He added that the three parties had agreed to reduce electricity prices by abolishing the special surcharge introduced to finance the expansion of renewable energies. Lindner promised that the government would return to households any additional income caused by rising carbon prices. "In Europe and Germany, we will advocate sound public finances and debt reduction. Too high government deficits would limit the ECB's fight against inflation," Lindner warned. His remarks were also confirmed by outgoing Bundesbank president and ECB member Jens Weidmann, who said the ECB should keep its distance from governments by resisting pressure to finance indebted countries or pursuing goals other than price stability.