Berlin Following the election of Olaf Scholz (SPD) as the new Federal Chancellor, leading economists are urging the new government to act immediately. In addition to containing the corona pandemic, the ecological transformation of the economy must be set in motion quickly in order to make Germany competitive in the long term.
“The big question is whether it will be possible to shape climate policy as a driver for economic development and innovations,” said Jutta Allmendinger, President of the Berlin Social Research Center (WZB), the Handelsblatt.
She emphasizes that this and the other major tasks of the new government under Scholz can only be mastered if social cohesion is promoted. “The reforms must not be at the expense of the weakest in our country,” said Allmendinger.
“Only if Germany changes quickly and courageously and, above all, strengthens Europe, will Germany become attractive as a location and companies will remain globally competitive,” said Marcel Fratzscher, President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), the Handelsblatt. The socio-ecological transformation is not an option, but a necessity.
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The Federal Republic is lagging far behind its competitors when it comes to important economic and ecological reforms. “Rarely in the past 70 years has a new federal government had to deal with such huge and urgent challenges,” says Fratzscher. The new government alliance made up of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP offers the opportunity to strike a new, clever balance between the state and the market and to push forward courageous reforms.
The President of the Ifo Institute, Clemens Fuest, also considers the climate-friendly restructuring of the economy to be the overriding task. “Much will depend on whether it succeeds in combining the climate policy plans with maintaining Germany’s competitiveness as an industrial location,” said Fuest to the Handelsblatt.
“The big tasks can only be mastered together, and the reforms must not be at the expense of the weakest in our country,” says the scientist.
(Photo: Imago Images)
According to the economist, there are very big differences between the parties involved: “But so far the will to form a stable coalition has been clearly evident.” So there is certainly an opportunity to advance Germany as a business location.
Joachim Lang, General Manager of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), agrees. “A federal government that is able to act immediately is indispensable in view of the mammoth tasks of digital and green transformation,” demanded Lang.
Speed instead of perfection
The announced decade of future investments must become a reality. The importance of industry and its innovative strength is very clear and positive in many central points in the coalition agreement. “You can build on that, words have to be followed by deeds.”
The BDI managing director also demands that the new government under Scholz react quickly to the increasing number of infections. “In the corona crisis, the new one has to
The Ifo President and the DIW boss consider the climate-friendly restructuring of the economy to be an urgent task for the new government.
(Photo: Imago Images)
Government get started right away, ”said Lang. It is high time that the federal and state governments break the fourth wave with an ambitious package of measures. The economists agree. The effective fight against the pandemic is urgently on the agenda, believes Ifo President Fuest.
“Not perfection, but the speed and effectiveness of the measures are decisive, because we are already behind the wave,” says Veronika Grimm. With a view to a general vaccination requirement, which is currently being examined by the Ethics Council on behalf of the governing body, Grimm is calling for rapid action. “Without a significantly higher vaccination rate, the situation will not be under control,” says the economist from the University of Nuremberg-Erlangen.
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