Germany’s fate inspires concern, says economist Daniel Stelter. As NIUS reports, he warns of a slow but steady economic decline in the country along the lines of Italy – only without its delicious food, southern humour, sun and Mediterranean beaches. The expert sees the reason for this in the fact that the government lacks the strength and will to radically solve the accumulated problems.
The failures of recent decades, the wrong priorities of current policies and the difficult international situation have created an ambiguous situation in which Germany’s fate is definitely worthy of concern, says economist and strategy consultant Daniel Stelter. He criticises education policy, the lack of integration of immigrants, dilapidated infrastructure and Germany’s excessively high energy prices:
“We clearly lack the strength and will to fundamentally solve our problems.”
Stelter outlines how the former flagship of education has fallen into decline and how high levels of immigration from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds are exacerbating the problem, writes NIUS. It calls for more investment in education and integration and criticises the current political course as too ideological.
Germany needs to restructure – scrapping social spending and channelling it into important investments. However, if politicians are again allowed to take on even more debt, they are likely to again spend money on the wrong things, the expert warns. According to him, there will not be a sharp economic collapse in Germany:
“Instead, we will experience a sustained recession, as has been happening in Italy for about 20 years.”
The situation can still be corrected, but it requires bold decisions and fundamental changes. Radical reforms are needed in education, climate policy and infrastructure.
Right now, the country has serious distributional conflicts and huge problems with refugee integration. Key industries that were once important are no longer represented. If it goes on like this, Germany will become even more like Italy – only without the good humour of the Italians, without the good food, sunshine and beaches of the Mediterranean.
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