According to various media reports, the economic situation in Germany has reached a critical phase. As part of the general crisis of imperialism, an economic crisis has been developing in the FRG for some time, which the rulers have been trying to ward off in various ways, mainly by trying to pass on the costs of the crisis to the broad masses of the people, but not going too far. The intention was to maintain relative calm among the population, not to create major unrest, as in France, for example. But it seems that the measures against the crisis are now exacerbating it.
The Federal Statistical Office has now published that the gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2023 fell by 0.3 percent compared to the previous quarter. The forecast was for stagnation only. GDP had already fallen by 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022. Now that the economy is contracting for two quarters in a row, people are talking about a "technical" recession.
A few causes are indicated for this: Inflation or price increases and the high interest rates set by the ECB (following the FED's instructions to get galloping inflation under control).
In particular, the ifo's business-climate-index is pointing downward. The reason for this is a lack of consumer sentiment, because everything is becoming more and more expensive, and car sales in particular are declining. In addition, there is a crisis in the construction industry, especially in residential construction, which is also due to the German government's lurching course in matters relating to the so-called energy turnaround.
The political crisis, which is also manifested in the manifold problems of the federal government, is becoming increasingly clear. Just recently, voter turnout in the parliamentary elections in Bremen dropped massively. The chancellor, known for his dealings with criminal bankers, apparently has few other competencies besides making "deals": "I am firmly convinced that we will not fall into a recession," he said as recently as January. Even now, he shows himself to be out of touch with reality when he claims, "The prospects for the German economy are very good." Maybe some of Mafioso-Olaf's friends are insolvency administrators or debt collection companies?
While the rulers succeeded in ironing out the dent with appropriate measures after the GDP slump of almost 10% in the first quarter of 2020, this is not to be expected in the current situation. Marcel Fratzscher, head of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), i.e. one of the leading economists in the country, speculates that the German economy will not recover visibly in the "coming year either." "We expect growth around zero percent. It could also be slightly positive or negative, but we don't know. Normally, a recession is followed by a fairly significant catch-up process, but that's exactly what we don't expect." Means permanent crisis. "In terms of the overall economy, we're talking more about stagnation for the foreseeable future. People on low incomes could take four or five years for the purchasing power of their wages to return to pre-crisis levels."
Certainly not without reason, some media are already writing of a serious "structural crisis instead of recession" and painting a bleak picture of the country's economic future.
