Since this is paywalled: https://archive.ph/qbldk
Thanks.
Wasn’t paywalled when I read it.
I think almost anything in the Economist is [getting] paywalled after some time, to allow for Googlebot to capture the content.
Hard to take the Economist serious when the economy is doing just as good as last year, or the year before.
Yes, there is a long overdue structural adjustment ongoing that is hampering additional growth, but all in all the German economy is doing well. A +/- 0.x % growth is not going from “bad to worse” at all.
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While I agree that a stimulus package in selected industries would be good, overall GDP growth is a very poor way of measuring economic health. Even the OP article admits as much by showing that it is only a very selected number of “energy intensive industries” that is pulling the otherwise not badly performing economy to near zero growth levels.
Edit: not sure why you deleted your comment…
As someone from southern Europe, I’m tempted to feel some satisfaction after Schäuble and Merkel pushed us to the brink between 2008 and 2012. But if there’s one lesson we should have learned since then, it’s that we’re all in this together. I believe Germany should focus its national efforts—supported by the EU if needed—on achieving strong energy independence and reclaiming its position as a symbol of industrial excellence. Anything else will just lead to a lower quality of life for all of us.