Germany's era of fiscal profligacy has come to an end and budget cuts will remain a priority for at least three decades, the most senior aide to Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned.

Thomas de Maizière, head of the chancellery and a close Merkel confidant, told the FT the government's efforts to bring the budget deficit back within the margins allowed by the constitution and the European Union's fiscal rules were "not the end of the road by a long stretch". "No matter how the economy turns out, my prediction is that fiscal consolidation will remain a priority of all governments for the next 30 years," he said. "For decades we have lived beyond our means and we will have to pay the price over decades."