Two summits for the German economy: more than just theatrical thunder?
Published: Monday, Oct 28th 2024, 16:50
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Is it all just histrionics, or can the industry summit hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) actually help the German economy out of the doldrums? The most important industry associations, trade unions and selected companies will meet for at least two hours in the Chancellery on Tuesday to find out.
The meeting is taking place under difficult circumstances because the German "traffic light" government (SPD, FDP, Greens) is quite divided on economic policy.
Scholz did not invite his Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) and his Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP). Habeck has therefore submitted a paper with his proposals for overcoming the crisis as a kind of input. And just a few hours before the Chancellor's summit, Lindner's FDP parliamentary group is hosting its own business meeting, which will also include the skilled trades and SMEs.
SPD General Secretary: End "intrigue games"
FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr defended the approach. Only inviting large-scale industry was "a little too narrow" for the FDP, he said on ZDF television. Small and medium-sized enterprises also needed concrete help. "We want to get back into the Champions League of major economic nations."
The leader of the "Greens" parliamentary group, Katharina Dröge, on the other hand, warned that everyone should pull themselves together in view of the tense situation. "We don't need competing discussion groups of finance ministers and chancellors, but joint solutions in the federal government," she told the German Press Agency. SPD General Secretary Matthias Miersch expressed a similar view: "Silly intrigues must stop. I expect my coalition partners to now work in a concentrated and solution-oriented manner," he told the newspapers of the Bavarian Media Group.
Scholz wants a "new industrial policy agenda"
Scholz announced the summit almost two weeks ago in a government statement in the Bundestag. It is to be the prelude to several talks with business representatives. The Chancellor's goal: "A new industrial policy agenda". "I will propose to this parliament what comes out of it, and I will get it off the ground so that Germany can move forward," he promised.
At the summit, Scholz wants to focus on the sectors in which a particularly large number of jobs are at stake. In addition to the Federation of German Industries (BDI), the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) will therefore be present. The employees are represented by the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), IG Metall and IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie. In addition to VW, BMW and Mercedes are also expected to attend from the major companies. A total of around 20 participants are expected.
It should be a confidential conversation
According to the Chancellor's wishes, the contents will remain confidential. There will be no subsequent press conference. The photographers and camera teams initially invited for the opening pictures have been disinvited again today. The signal: this is not a show event.
"We have to get away from the theater stages," Scholz said at the weekend. "We have to get away from presenting and proposing something that is then not accepted and adopted by everyone. It has to be about great togetherness."
Industry wants greater reduction in energy costs
Ahead of the summit, German industry is calling for a greater reduction in energy costs than previously planned. "Lower prices for a few large companies and bureaucratic support programs alone are not a sufficient concept for this," said the President of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), Peter Adrian, to the "Rheinische Post".
The BDI is calling for the German government to pull in the same direction when it comes to economic policy. Instead of "different thesis papers and discussion formats", a "joint economic policy strategy" is needed that strengthens growth forces, according to the association. To achieve this, the state framework conditions must be improved and companies freed from the shackles that are currently slowing down investment.
VW crisis makes the summit particularly explosive
The summit is particularly explosive due to the worsening crisis at VW, Germany's largest car manufacturer. According to the works council, three out of ten plants in Germany are to be closed, tens of thousands of jobs cut and salaries drastically reduced. Through a government spokesperson, Scholz demanded "that possible wrong management decisions from the past must not be at the expense of the employees".
©Keystone/SDA
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