Berlin - Tensions grew Thursday within German Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition over plans to spur growth in Europe's biggest economy in the face of the global economic slowdown.

A leading member of Merkel's conservative bloc roundly lashed out at German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck over his criticism of Britain's attempt to limit the fallout from the economic downturn by boosting public spending.

But said Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the secretary general of the Bavarian-based Christian Social Union (CSU): "It is obvious that the finance minister missed out on going to the diplomatic nursery."

In an outspoken interview with US magazine Newsweek, Steinbrueck said Britain's conversion from economic and financial prudence to heavy state borrowing was of "breathtaking" proportions.

Guttenberg told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa: "Steinbrueck wanted to use these remarks to distract attention away from his own failures."

The CSU secretary general said Steinbrueck should "perhaps be given a basic course in diplomacy from Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier."

Merkel's grand coalition government has introduced a fiscal stimulus package including measures totalling up to 32 billion euros (42.5 billion dollars).

But both Merkel and Steinbrueck, who is a member of the Social Democrats, have resisted calls for the government to unveil more steps to help Germany through the current downturn.

This includes the CSU insisting that Merkel's coalition government should cut taxes to help boost economic growth.

However, in his remarks Steinbrueck in particular criticized the British Labour Government's move to reduce value added tax (VAT) by 2.5-per-cent to 15 per cent.

"All this will do is raise Britain's debt to a level that will take a whole generation to work off," Steinbrueck said, echoing criticism levelled at Brown by the Conservative opposition in Britain. (dpa)