Alex Schmidt
Representatives of German industry sharply criticized the German government’s failure to minimize the consequences of the economic crisis. As Bild reported on May 1 of this year, President of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA), Rainer Dulger, spoke about the inaction of the ruling coalition led by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Is the German government making the situation worse?
“The time has come for the federal government to act,” Dulger demanded at a meeting of representatives of the German chemical industry. The head of the BDA emphasized that at the last meeting with the chancellor, which took place in early March, German entrepreneurs provided Scholz with a list of demands to improve the business climate in the country, but Berlin has still “not provided an answer.”
According to Dulger, the German government is only contributing to the further deterioration of the situation by initiating new legislative measures and increasing bureaucratic pressure. “The really toxic thing is that everyone in Berlin has the impression that they know everything better than the industry,” said Dulger. He added: “The Chancellor is ignoring the seriousness of the situation.”
Head of the German Ministry of Economy: “Economic conditions in Germany need urgent improvement”
Kai Beckmann, a member of the Executive Board at Merck KGaA and former president of the Association of Employers in the Chemical Industry (BAVC), also expressed concern about the decline in the competitiveness of Germany as a place of doing business. He emphasized: “If a company succeeds here, it is not because of Germany, but in spite of it.”
It is worth noting that government officials expressed partial agreement with the current crisis situation. For example, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Robert Habeck admitted during a meeting with entrepreneurs that German industry is currently facing structural challenges that the German government “has not addressed over the past two years.” “Economic conditions in Germany urgently need improvement. This applies to all areas — from energy supply to the supply of raw materials and the reduction of bureaucracy,” Habeck said.
