At a recent weekend, the leaders of the present German coalition government, still headed by Chancellor Angela Merkel, gathered in Berlin to discuss why they have lost millions of voters in recent elections. Merkel’s party union is still struggling with the refugee open border disaster, while the Social Democrats proposed a fundamental overhaul of Germany’s social state, dumping the Hartz IV welfare reforms of 2003–2005.
While both German governing parties were making headlines by acknowledging their past mistakes in a world that has lost its decade sold foundations, there came a wakeup call from the editors of The Economist. Looking at the challenges faced by industrial powerhouse Germany in the real world of global trade and finance, the magazine’s cover asked a provocative question: Is the German model broken?
Inside, the British magazine warns that for Germany’s economy it is “time to worry,” and that “an economic golden age in Germany could be coming to an end,” and that “the German economy suddenly looks vulnerable.”
Leave a Reply