"Germany is back!" When Chancellor Merkel took office, she made such a bold statement to 82 million Germans. Now the results are in, Germany has not only failed to return, but has gone further away!

Germany's economy faces another major setback!

Germany's economy in the second quarter after Merkel's assumption of office did not grow, but instead saw a decline far exceeding previous expectations! The German Federal Statistics Office revised its earlier estimates on Friday, showing a 0.3% decrease in GDP for April to June! The initial estimate had shown a 0.1% decline.

Dim prospects for the German economy

"Especially industrial production was worse than initially expected," this is the reason for this revision. In the first quarter of this year, the German economy still grew by 0.3%. Except for construction and energy, other sectors declined by 2.8%. Several areas saw significant declines, especially machinery manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and food industries.

As an export power, Germany's export situation is also deteriorating. According to data from the German Federal Statistics Office, exports in the first half of this year amounted to 786 billion euros, a decrease of 0.1% compared to 2024. The value of imported goods was 682 billion euros, an increase of 4.4% compared to the same period last year. Therefore, the trade surplus fell from 133.7 billion euros to 104 billion euros.

Report by the Bild newspaper

In terms of exports, exports to the United States have particularly declined. Despite a decline of 3.9%, the United States remains the most important buyer of German products. Exports of cars and car parts to the United States fell by 8.6%, and exports of machinery fell by 7.9%.

The trade deficit with China has worsened further. Imports have increased, with imports from China rising by 10.7%. In the first half of the year, the majority of goods imported by Germany came from China (81.3 billion euros). The Netherlands (49.3 billion euros) and the United States (47.4 billion euros) ranked second and third as Germany's most important suppliers, respectively. Germany's imports from China exceeded its exports to China by 40 billion euros.

At the same time, exports of machinery manufacturing and automobiles to China have declined. Johannes Gnant, chief economist of the German Association of Machinery Manufacturers, stated that in the first half of this year, exports of machinery manufacturing to China, Germany's second-largest buyer, decreased by 9% to 8.2 billion euros.

Machinery exports hit hard

"This economic news is also shocking. The growth recovery at the beginning of the year was just a fleeting moment. A significant drop in exports is the result of tariffs hindering trade," said Alexander Krug, chief economist at private bank Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe.

Given the weak economic data, the German Ministry of Economics and Energy, led by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has called for further reforms. The ministry stated in its response to the survey on Friday: "The measures taken so far are not enough - more actions are needed to make Germany a competitive business location again and get back on the growth track. Therefore, it is crucial to implement further structural reforms quickly."

So far, the German federal government has invested massive amounts of over 200 billion euros in budgets and special funds, but there have been almost no major economic reform plans. At the same time, Chancellor Merkel is currently busy managing foreign policy crises, building relations with Trump, helping Ukraine fight Russia, and secretly supporting Israel. He enjoys being called the "foreign affairs chancellor" by the international community.

Automotive industry is also struggling

However, without economic success, the people will not accept it!

Doubts about the work of Merkel's government among the German people are increasing. A survey commissioned by the Bild newspaper from the polling institute INSA showed that only 11% of respondents believe that their personal financial situation will improve under the new government. Public confidence in the economy has clearly declined: nearly half (48%) of respondents expect the economy to stagnate, and more than a third (37%) even expect it to worsen.

Hopes for improvement in immigration and asylum issues continue to be dashed: 32% of respondents expected progress in May, but by August, this proportion had dropped to just 19%.

Merkel improving relations with Trump

New government cooperation has also left many unconvinced: 45% of respondents believed that the cooperation of the new "black-red coalition" is similar to that of the "red-green light coalition." 21% of respondents thought the cooperation had improved, while 26% thought it had worsened.

A previous 100-day survey of the Merkel government also showed that public satisfaction with the Prime Minister's work was only 30%, even lower than the unpopular former Prime Minister Scholz, whose 100-day satisfaction was 43%. Merkel's 100-day satisfaction had reached as high as 69%.

Aoki believes that for Germany, an export-oriented economy, the US and Chinese markets are extremely important for stable economic development. However, currently, Merkel and European Commission President von der Leyen, who also comes from Germany and belongs to the same party, are overly appeasing the US. US tariffs have not only hurt German exports, but many large companies are also planning to move to the US. At the same time, Germany is restricting investments from China, which advocates win-win cooperation, and is accelerating efforts to reduce so-called Chinese dependence, aiming for "de-risking." This misplaced economic policy is bound to lead to a recession.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7541393627755381267/

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