Mr Dulger, wind power generators are making record profits, expensive energy is driving toilet paper manufacturers and shoe retailers into bankruptcy.

How is our economy doing?

Dietrich Creutzburg

Business correspondent in Berlin.

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Manfred Schäfers

Business correspondent in Berlin.

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The situation is tense, but we remain optimistic.

German companies are traditionally high-performing and innovative.

We have a differentiated situation: Some companies are doing well, like my own - others are struggling.

That's why we see more and more companies running out of breath because of the very high energy costs.

Or craftsmen and hotels that just don't keep going because it doesn't pay off.

That worries me a lot.

Is this now a dry spell or is it the beginning of a serious crisis?

We must not lull ourselves into a false sense of security.

More storm clouds gather every day.

So I'm not ruling out a recession.

There is a real danger that structures will collapse that cannot easily be restored.

In what way?

The success of our economy is essentially based on the interaction of a wide range of added value in Germany as a business location, from basic chemicals and steel production to special glass production and mechanical engineering to crafts and services.

If individual building blocks break out, for example due to relocation to countries with lower energy costs, then this can very easily cause us permanent damage.

Do you think the traffic light government is on the right track with the recently agreed relief package?

It was irritating what the coalition announced at the first attempt: How could it happen that people were discussing relief for 22 hours and then completely forgot about medium-sized companies, the backbone of our German economy?

I am pleased that the Federal Minister of Economics now wants to make improvements - also with targeted crisis aid for medium-sized companies.

But the first attempt failed.

This traffic light government simply has to internalize this one principle: If we have a strong economy, then we also have a strong country.

The planned electricity price brake can also relieve companies.

What do you make of it?

The details are complicated and aren't all on the table yet, so it's difficult to give a conclusive assessment at the moment.

What I do know for sure: it is time for a new energy policy.

The goal of a reliable supply at a competitive price level, which has been neglected for many years, must immediately become the focus of attention.

And this is all the more urgent as only a handful of countries in the world are struggling with similarly serious problems as we are.

This is not a good basis for companies that want to be competitive on a world market level.

Should one skim off record profits from green power producers?

I think that ultimately creates more problems than it solves.

You have to answer a lot of questions first: for example, how do you define excess profit, which reference year do you use for the comparison, or whether you take the average of several years, and so on.

At the same time, it doesn't make sense to me why the price of wind and solar power should be based on the costs of drastically increased gas-fired power generation, even though wind and sun are still free.

If it were possible to break through this mechanism and arrive at a more realistic market result, I would have my full sympathy.

And then the government would be back on a path that business approves of?