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Christian Lindner in Davos: “And now we have a good cup of coffee”
Photo: Hannes P Albert / picture alliance / dpa
Last August, the British Economist asked whether Germany was “once again the sick man of Europe” in the headline above an article and symbolically hung a traffic light man on a drip in an illustration.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) does not consider such depictions of Germany in other European countries to be appropriate.
“Germany is not the sick man,” said Lindner during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
After a successful phase since 2012, the country has gone through a phase of crisis.
Lindner said symbolically: "Germany is a tired man after a short night."
The poor economic outlook is also a "wake-up call": "And now we have a good cup of coffee, that means structural reforms, and then we will continue to be economically successful."
Lindner referred to the challenges following the gas supply stop from Russia.
“We have had to reinvent the German energy infrastructure and supply over the past 18 months,” said the minister in English during the discussion.
That's why there isn't the best growth prospects, "but our economy has shown resilience."
Now Germany has to do its “homework” – like others “with similar challenges,” the finance minister added.
The German economy performed poorly last year, even compared to the EU.
Countries such as France and Spain recorded a stronger increase in economic output, while in Germany it fell by 0.3 percent.
For 2024, German economic institutes expect gross domestic product to grow by 0.6 to 0.9 percent.
This is why Germany has recently been repeatedly referred to as the “sick man of Europe,” especially in English-language media.
This expression dates back to the late 1990s.
After reunification, the Federal Republic suffered from weak growth and high unemployment.
kko/AFP