The leader of Germany's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) Friedrich Merz said he could be open to reforming the debt brake, which limits public deficit to 0.35% of gross domestic product, in certain circumstances.

Conservative chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz said he’s open to reform Germany’s strict borrowing limits as long as additional debt-financed spending is used for investment.

A new government beckons in Germany after the implosion of its ruling coalition, but it will face the same question: whether to allow higher public borrowing to prop up the flagging economy.

German opposition leader Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday he was open to reforming the country's constitutional brake on government spending. Merz, widely seen as the favourite to succeed Chancellor Olaf Scholz after next year's parliamentary elections,