Germany’s federal cabinet has set out a borrowing program that marks a sharp break from its long-standing fiscal restraint. The plan pairs a reworked constitutional “debt brake” with multiple special funds to finance a surge in public investment and defense outlays over the next several years. Berlin’s stated goals are straightforward: repair and modernize core infrastructure, stabilize an economy that has struggled with weak growth, and lift military spending to meet new NATO benchmarks. Policymakers have signaled that annual deficits will widen as borrowing ramps, with the debt ratio edging higher from the low‑60s % of GDP into the mid‑70s by the end of the decade if growth and inflation track current assumptions.