Heart-shaped box, OK

But Germany-shaped void?

That tune will never be a hit.

The Germany-shaped void at Europe’s heart – Olaf Scholz’s government is punching below its weight in Brussels.

Last month Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron entered an eu summit with a plan. The German and French leaders agreed that a “strategic agenda” document, drawn up to set the eu’s priorities for the next five years, was inadequate. The passages on climate and migration were weak, and what about defence? But their extensive rewrites, drawn up just before the meeting, sparked a revolt among the other leaders, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni among them. Voices were raised, fingers jabbed, and the pair retreated in humiliation…

German Of The Day: Tiefer Fall

That means a steep fall. Very steep in this case. Really, really, really steep already.

Fall

You would have to back in history some ninety years to find a comparable peacetime decline in German economic activity.

But why would anybody want to do that?

Germany’s Economic Slump Shows Scale of Europe’s Challenge – The 10.1% drop in output in the region’s largest economy is a harbinger of worse figures elsewhere. Spain, France and Italy will probably report even deeper contractions on Friday, reflecting a recession that prompted an unprecedented policy response from governments.

Man wird in der Geschichte bis zur Weltwirtschaftskrise vor rund neunzig Jahren zurückgehen müssen, um in Friedenszeiten einen vergleichbaren Sturz der wirtschaftlichen Tätigkeit in Deutschland zu entdecken.