In view of the weak economic outlook, Finance Minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner is calling for the economic conditions in Germany to be improved. He emphasizes that obstacles for small and medium-sized businesses must be removed.
After the worrying forecast for the economy this year, which points to a decline, FDP leader and Finance Minister Christian Lindner is calling on politicians to act. He warned on Wednesday on LinkedInthat the weak economic prospects pose a massive threat to Germany as a business location: “The weak growth and lack of competitiveness endanger jobs and our economic substance.”
In conversation with Phoenix in person He emphasized that the worrying economic situation required the rapid implementation of the growth initiative he had initiated: “We have to start a growth initiative in the autumn of the decisions so that we can see light at the end of the horizon again. I want people to be proud of Germany again, also because of its economic strength.” Given the downwardly revised forecast for gross domestic product (GDP), Lindner calls for further steps: “To be honest, after this week’s sobering figures, we have to go beyond that. “
Remove obstacles for medium-sized businesses
Lindner explained that it is now a matter of removing the obstacles that are holding back small and medium-sized businesses, crafts and industry. Growth comes from trust in the location, and the framework conditions must be right for this to happen. “We have to work specifically on the problems that prevent medium-sized companies from developing new products and services.” Above all, businesses need planning and a functioning infrastructure. Reducing bureaucracy, lower energy prices, lower tax burdens and the availability of skilled workers are particularly important.
The central German craft association Federal Finance Minister Lindner agreed with this description of the problem at a forum meeting on Friday. The association would like to see fundamental reforms, as small adjustments are no longer enough: “It is time to rethink politics from the perspective of medium-sized businesses and crafts.”
In this context, FDP leader Lindner is also clear: “Germany must remain an open country. We need immigration.” At the same time, he emphasizes that for the Free Democrats there is a third way between “everyone in” and “everyone out”. “I regularly say that we have tolerated for far too long that it is easy to immigrate illegally into our welfare state, while at the same time it is difficult to seek happiness as a qualified, motivated person in our job market,” said Lindner.
Another key aspect for Lindner is compliance with the debt brake. The FDP leader made it clear that state subsidies for certain technologies did not represent a sustainable solution to the weakening economy. This approach would only lead to a higher deficit in the state budget. Instead, Lindner is convinced: “Growth comes from ingenuity, the willingness to take entrepreneurial risks and the willingness to perform.” He is therefore firmly opposed to easing the debt brake. In his opinion, the state has sufficient financial resources, but these should be used more specifically: “The solution lies not in weakening the debt brake, but in focusing the welfare state on the people who really need it.”
Lindner emphasized at the Central Association of German Crafts, that the country is faced with a directional decision: “Do we want to continue to have a world-class standard of living, is it our intention to be the world leader in economic standards? Then there is no way around the fact that each and every individual and the country as a whole develop the willingness to achieve top performance.” The big challenge is a change of course: away from a welfare state that has lost its accuracy towards an environment that encourages investment and the Promote the creation of wealth instead of just redistributing it.