Germany’s economy is teetering on the edge of recession, with opposition leaders pointing fingers to the Government’s green energy policies as the culprit. The Mailhas the story.
Once one of the world’s strongest economies, Germany is now expected to have the worst performing economy of any leading nation in the world, according to stats from the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Friedrich Merz, the 67 year-old leader of the Christian Democrats opposition party, claims that this slump is a direct result of the Government’s overly bureaucratised green energy policies, which are being led by the Greens in coalition with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats.
“Unfortunately, 2023 will be a year of recession,” Mr. Merz told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
“If the insane amount of bureaucracy isn’t stopped soon, if energy prices don’t fall quickly, then 2024 won’t be a good year either.”
The populist leader pledged to “lower the tax and levy burden on energy”, “immediately reconnect decommissioned nuclear power plants to the grid”, and “adopt a moratorium on bureaucracy”.
He elaborated, saying: “Not a single new law should trigger additional bureaucracy. That means, for example: We would stop the heating law. In this form, it is not only technologically flawed, but also sets in motion a huge new bureaucracy.”
The pledge came shortly before France’s President Emmanuel Macron openly disagreed with Germany’s current stance on nuclear power, claiming that neglecting the role of nuclear energy in the EU would be a “historic mistake”.
Mr. Merz is currently leading in the polls after his party adopted several anti-immigrant policies.
Meanwhile, the Government’s ratings have slumped in recent months. Nearly three quarters of Germans, 73%, are unhappy with the current coalition Government, according to an opinion poll published over the weekend.
The ratings downturn came as new figures revealed that Germany has remained the ‘sick man of Europe’ as its economy stagnated in the second quarter while the country battles an industrial slowdown and stubborn inflation.
The outlook for the nation long lauded as Europe’s industrial powerhouse is deteriorating, with its economy registering zero growth from April to June compared with the previous quarter, according to data from the federal statics agency Destatis.
The figures come as a major blow to Germany’s Government, which had boldly doubled its growth forecast for this year after a feared winter energy crunch failed to materialise.
Germany’s stagnating economy – which had fallen into recession earlier this year – is in stark contrast to Brexit Britain’s economy, which continues to see growth. The U.K.’s economy grew by 0.2% in the second quarter of the year, with June’s sunny weather encouraging Britons to eat out and spend more. …
Marcel Fratzscher, head of the Berlin-based DIW institute, says Germany’s problems are structural.
The country needs a “long-term transformation programme, with an investment drive, a broad (reduction of its bureaucracy) and strengthening of social systems”, he said in an analysis published over the summer.
Several concerns on the economic front are widely shared – uncertainty about energy costs in the medium term, cumbersome regulations, a lack of skilled labour and a slow shift to a digital economy.
And to make matters worse for Germany’s stagnating economy, business chiefs in June warned that the Government’s decision to shut down the last remaining power plants in favour of renewable energy would see critical industries ditch the country amid electricity shortages.
The head of energy firm RWE said he fears that Germany will face a shortage of electricity that will see prices in the already struggling country soar. …
German energy chiefs have blamed the country’s poor economic outlook on the Government’s green energy ‘disaster’ that has seen the last remaining nuclear power plants shut down. Instead, the focus is now on renewable energy supplies from solar and wind sites.
But the intermittent nature of these green energy sources, which leaves them susceptible to sudden drops during cloudy or windless periods, means Germany’s electricity system remains vulnerable to electricity shortages and price volatility.
Krebber warned that this could have a devastating impact on Germany’s industries that are trying in vain to prop up the country’s flailing economy. …
This is all playing into the hands of Germany’s far-right parties, with the Alternative for Germany (AfD)’s popularity surging in the polls over its criticism of what it calls a costly green agenda.
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