Economic crisis
“We can’t continue like this”: Habeck announces devastating economic forecast
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens, archive photo)
© Sean Gallup/Getty Images
The economic prospects for this year are “dramatically bad,” says Economics Minister Robert Habeck. What to do? The partners in the government disagree.
Robert Habeck would welcome reform of the debt brake
Habeck will present the annual economic report next week. In its autumn forecast, the government had assumed growth of 1.3 percent this year. Last year the German economy slipped into recession. Habeck also cited the consequences of the Federal Constitutional Court’s budget ruling as the reason for lowering the forecast. This means that people would have less money to invest because the government had to let the energy price brakes expire at the end of 2023 due to austerity constraints.
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“Overall, we need to invest more in this country and get economic growth going,” said the Green politician on Wednesday at a craft policy forum in Leipzig at the start of a three-day country tour.
Both Habeck and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) want to strengthen the competitiveness of the German economy, but the proposals are different.
The Federal Minister of Economics was greeted with occasional boos at the forum at the Leipzig Trade Fair. Habeck again advocated a reform of the debt brake. “It shouldn’t fail because of me.” However, the FDP and the Union reject reform.
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When asked what the trade’s most pressing problems were, Habeck said the bureaucracy was overwhelming. He announced measures, but at the same time pointed out that the states were also responsible for many rules. There is still a shortage of workers, so the economy is not running at full steam. In addition, the craft sector is suffering from the economic weakness. “People have less money, they withhold money, companies don’t invest.”
Crafts president Jörg Dittrich criticized the traffic light coalition. There is no problem of knowledge. There is a lot on the table that would be ready for a decision. But the federal government has to do it. Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) said with regard to the coalition that the country had chosen the wrong path. The “basic course” must be changed; the state cannot regulate everything via “microcontrol”.