The Chancellor promises growth rates like in the 1950s. The restructuring of the energy supply should bring prosperity for everyone. Is Olaf Scholz an incorrigible optimist – or has he gone mad after almost a year and a half in office?
The two men are not really alike. Okay, both of rather short stature, but one baroque corpulent, the other athletically sinewy. One was considered a South German-friendly soul, the other seems Hanseatic-sober, sometimes cool. Ludwig Erhard puffed on a cigar, non-smoker Olaf Scholz kept fit with rowing. They are sons of their respective times. But now one is imitating the other: Olaf Scholz wants to foment a second economic miracle in Germany – as Ludwig Erhard for the 21st century.