A more radical resuscitation remedy may be needed.
Germany urged to stop admiring Beijing and wake up to ‘China Shock 2.0’ – ‘China has already eaten much of German industry’s lunch and is preparing to start on dinner,’ thinktank says.
Germany must stop admiring China’s success in the EU or it will sleepwalk into the kind of deindustrialisation the US experienced 25 years ago, a leading Brussels thinktank has said.
After uncovering the remains of a rural settlement dating from the 3rd to 5th centuries CE offering new information about daily life during the final centuries of the Roman Empire…
And considering how Germany today is clearly incapable of introducing the radical economic reforms it needs to continue as a competitive industrialized nation, the helpless German government is considering a proposal by the Greens to reintroduce these ancient longhouses and weaving workshops as an alternative path to progress and prosperity.
Skeptics point out, however, that the huge bureaucratic hurdles blocking a return to such an alternative lifestyle could take several centuries CE to overcome.
That means insolvency. As in bankrupt.
As in Germany’s current coalition government under Friedrich Merz.
“Hardly any of the urgently needed structural reforms that were announced have been implemented. There is no overall plan for concrete reforms to promote growth and competitiveness. Germany’s position as a center of industry is under existential threat.”
Other than that though, the current German government is doing a great job.
Which makes them happy.
Which makes them miserable again.
German Business Sentiment Dives to Lowest Since 2020 as War Hits Outlook – Sentiment is at its lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic, when lockdowns and restrictions hammered businesses.
That means growth.
A rare occurance in Germany these days.
Energy price shock slows growth – The war in Iran is dashing hopes for a sustained economic recovery. This is throwing the Merz administration’s entire economic policy strategy into disarray.
Because their industries are dying, or already dead.
And this is primarily due to its climate emissions targets.
Germany misses climate targets as emissions barely fall in 2025 – Greenhouse gases dropped just 0.1% last year as environment minister criticises lack of improvement.
Greenhouse gas emissions in Germany have again missed targets set by the Climate Protection Act and barely fell at all in 2025.
Emissions decreased by just 0.1% last year compared to the previous year, according to data from the German Environment Agency.
Down, down, down, down, down.
Surging Energy Costs Put German Industry ‘Really in Danger’ – Four years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent energy prices soaring, the war in Iran is posing another challenge to efforts to revive European factories.
Soon.
Union tries to seize control of works council at Tesla’s German factory – Lawsuits and slander claims fly in IG Metall’s battle with Elon Musk over employment rights and conditions.
Europe’s largest trade union is trying to gain control of the works council at Elon Musk’s Tesla gigafactory near Berlin, in an industrial relations showdown marked by lawsuits and mutual accusations of slander.
The works council, an elected body of employees that negotiates everything from working hours to pay deals with a company’s management, is considered an entrenched aspect of the German corporate world, particularly in the car industry.
But it was a bone of contention at the Tesla plant in Grünheide, about 20 miles (30km) south-east of Berlin, even before the gates opened almost four years ago.
More like a dead cat bounce.
German Economy Grows by 0.3% in Q4, Stats Office Says – The German economy grew by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared with the previous quarter, the statistics office said on Wednesday, confirming its preliminary reading.
Meanwhile… German auto exports to China plunged by a third in 2025, economic institute says.
That means to shoot yourself in the foot, only in German it’s the knee.
With the highest energy prices in Europe (in the world?), what choice does German industry have but move? Go Greens.
German auto industry in ‘crisis’ as investments, jobs move abroad, lobby says – Germany’s standing as an automotive industrial hub risks being hollowed out as investments and jobs drift abroad, an industry association warned on Tuesday, calling on Berlin and Brussels to focus on measures that spur growth.
“Germany is experiencing a huge crisis as a business location,” VDA President Hildegard Mueller said.
A VDA survey of small- and medium-sized German enterprises across the auto supply chain, presented by Mueller on Tuesday, showed that 72% of companies plan to dial back their investments in Germany, either by moving them abroad (28%), postponing them (25%) or cancelling them completely (19%).
