In practice this meant either that the domestic currency public debt would have to increase by the amount the authorities were willing to intervene in the foreign exchange markets, or fiscal policy would have to adjust to find the resources for foreign currency purchases out of current spending or from increased revenue.
Short of increased borrowing and the implications for short-term interest rates, the other options entailed reducing public spending on current programmes or tax increases. Exactly what you do not want to do when you are in a crisis, because you want to act counter-cyclically. Taking that stance would have meant that you act pro-cyclically and you would have plunged the economy into recession.