The numbers are not good for Germany. The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.3% in 2023, after an increase of 1.8% in 2022, according to official data adjusted for price variables. Figures which pushed, this Friday, the Minister of Finance Christian Lindner to come out of his reserve.
“I know that some people think that Germany is a sick man,” said the minister of the euro zone’s largest economy, who was speaking during a panel at the World Economic Forum meeting. Germany is not a sick man. Germany, after a very successful period since 2012 and recent years of crisis, is a tired man after a short night. »
In recession in 2023, Germany has, in recent times, been described by many observers as “the sick man of Europe”, echoing an expression used in the late 1990s after the backlash of reunification.
“We do not have the growth prospects that we expected »
“The weak growth prospects are a wake-up call and we are going to have a good coffee, that is to say, make structural reforms, and then continue to succeed economically,” the German minister further detailed. And added: “We do not have the growth prospects that we expected but our economy is resilient. We must do our homework. We had to resolve the debt and deficit issue but we succeeded. »
German growth last year was significantly worse than the EU average, which is expected to reach growth of 0.6% in 2023, according to the latest forecasts from the European Commission, with marked increases for France, l Spain or Italy.