This is very disturbing. But with all the recent uproars, the country has lost another problem, as urgent as immigration or the decline of the transatlantic alliance: a staggering, unified economy. Two years after the recession, Germany was trapped in a vicious cycle of vicious growth and low productivity, and no one seemed to know what to do. Regardless of the outcome on Sunday, the country will be in serious trouble.
To be fair, there is agreement: the threat of permanent decline is real. Businesses are burdened by high energy prices, excessive bureaucracy and competition from China. Aging population means fewer high-quality workers filling important jobs. Years of underinvestment of infrastructure have caused huge losses. In an imminent global trade war, Germany suffered more export-oriented economic losses than others. A jury of economists and journalists was named “Business Word of the Year” for 2024, considered a favorite of “business monsters” and “transformation backlog”. Finally, it settled on “de-industrialization”.
Whatever the term happens, it is obvious that something must be given. Mr. Meles, who was in pole position, became the next prime minister, portrayed himself as a reformer and promised tax cuts. However, he has no reasonable explanation for how he will fund them. He talked about innovation and growth, but he blurred plans to reduce government subsidies and social services. In an interview with the weekly Death Zeit, Mr. Meles admitted how much he is willing to do. “A society that lives in aging that has been peaceful and prosperous for many years, rather than changing societies change less,” he said.
Social Democrats led by Prime Minister Olaf Scholz are even more conflicted. They want to relax the constitutional debt brakes (strict restrictions on government borrowing) to increase spending on education, housing and infrastructure. However, the party, historically originated from the labor movement, remains associated with the country’s tradition of mass manufacturing and is associated with high employment and social stability. Like the Greens, Social Democrats pin their hopes on low-carbon technology, which they believe will trigger a revival of P industry. Mr Scholz said the economy will “see the same growth rates as the 1950s and 1960s” due to climate protection.
That’s not an accidental allusion. For decades after the war, Mr. Scholz and Mr. Merz often referred to the economic miracle or “Wirtschaftswunder”, which suggests that another person might be around the corner. In the depths, they must know that the 25-year boom (the period when all ships rise together) is an anomaly in history. Nevertheless, they obviously wanted to assure voters that they could get without pain, so they kept pretending.
