Just under 100 days after taking office, Germany's new conservative-led coalition government faces a sobering assessment from leading economic expert Veronika Grimm, reported dpa.
While the economy shows some signs of hope and key sentiment indicators have improved slightly, Grimm told the Funke media group that "the government has yet to deliver."
Chancellor Friedrich Merz's governing coalition will mark its first 100 days in office next Wednesday. He came to office on promises to kick-start Europe's biggest economy after two years of contraction.
Grimm is a member of the five-person Council of Economic Experts, which evaluates the economic policies of the government and offers its advice. They are appointed by the German president.
Grimm criticized the coalition for distributing financial handouts – such as pension increases, subsidies on diesel fuel for farmers, and relief for hospitality businesses – without a clear long-term plan.
"Germany must at last do its homework and tackle thoroughgoing reform," Grimm said in the remarks published on Saturday.
"So many electoral gifts are being distributed that huge budgetary holes are opening up – and this before a discussion on tax rises," she said.
Grimm called for business taxes to be reduced and red tape cut – "from the conditions on the labour and housing markets through rules on climate and up to data protection."
"German business is being held back by a veritable thicket of regulation," Grimm concluded.
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Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
