No question about it: the corona pandemic is the greatest challenge for Hessen after the Second World War.
But almost 14 months after the first lockdown came into effect, it is clear that the country will not be brought to its knees, at least economically.
The worst seems to be over, the third wave of infections has broken, no more companies are filing for bankruptcy than in normal times, and the number of unemployed is even falling.
And Economics Minister Tarek Al-Wazir (The Greens) is raising hopes that the economy could return to pre-crisis levels as early as autumn.
There are two main reasons why Hessen is doing so relatively well after more than a year of drastic and dramatic restrictions on personal and entrepreneurial freedom.
On the one hand, the state - with a gross domestic product that is well above that of Finland and just below that of Denmark - has an extremely stable economic foundation.
While other German and European countries were hit by Corona in an already economically sensitive phase, the virus hit Hessen in its full bloom.
Counteracted with full force
On the other hand, politicians as a whole reacted and countered quickly, decisively and in line with the challenge with full force.
Those who do not see it that way should turn their gaze to the sometimes significantly greater economic upheavals elsewhere.
Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, more than 13 billion euros have flowed from the federal and state governments to support Hessian entrepreneurs and the self-employed.
Hundreds of companies and thousands of jobs have been saved, at least temporarily, thanks to this “bazooka” aid.
And where federal aid was not enough, the CDU / Green state government stepped in with special programs such as restart aid for solo self-employed people.
In the end, it is anything but a coincidence that Hessen will leave the corona pandemic economically and financially behind with a black eye. But the next crisis is certain, and therefore, more than ever, the goal of state politics must be to strengthen Hessen as a business location. Healthy companies and healthy public finances are two essential prerequisites if you want to prevent crises like Corona from turning into catastrophes.