Germany on Track for Two-year Recession as Economy Shrinks in 2023 by Richard Partington
January 15, 2024
Introduction:
(The Guardian) Germany is on track for its first two-year recession since the early 2000s after its economy shrank in 2023 amid the impact of higher energy costs and weaker industrial demand.
The German national statistics office said “multiple crises” affecting the economy had contributed to a 0.3% fall in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, compared with the previous year, as higher interest rates and elevated living costs took their toll.
“Despite recent price declines, prices remained high at all stages in the economic process and put a damper on economic growth,” said Dr Ruth Brand, the president of the statistics office, at a press conference in Berlin on Monday.
The German national statistics office said “multiple crises” affecting the economy had contributed to a 0.3% fall in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, compared with the previous year, as higher interest rates and elevated living costs took their toll.
“Despite recent price declines, prices remained high at all stages in the economic process and put a damper on economic growth,” said Dr Ruth Brand, the president of the statistics office, at a press conference in Berlin on Monday.
Columns of Tractors Gather in Berlin for the Climax of a Week of Protests by Farmers January15, 2024
Introduction:
(AP via NBC) Columns of tractors rolled into Berlin on Monday as farmers gathered for the climax of a week of demonstrations against a plan to scrap tax breaks on the diesel they use, a protest that has tapped into wider discontent with Germany’s government.
Police said late Sunday evening that the space set aside for vehicles in front of the Brandenburg Gate, where Monday’s demonstration was being held, was already full. Over the past week, farmers have blocked highway entrances and slowed down traffic across Germany with their protests, intent on pushing Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government to abandon the planned cuts entirely.
They’re not satisfied with concessions the government has already made. On Jan. 4, it watered down its original plan, saying that a car tax exemption for farming vehicles would be retained and the cuts in the diesel tax breaks would be staggered over three years.
Scholz said in a video message on Saturday that “we took the farmers’ arguments to heart” and insisted the government came up with “a good compromise.” He also said officials will discuss “what else we can do so that agriculture has a good future.”
Leaders of the three governing parties’ parliamentary groups plan to meet with farmers’ representatives, though officials have dampened hopes of scrapping the subsidy cuts.
Germany’s Far-right AfD Face Mounting Protests Over Plan to Deport Migrants
by Nadine Schmidt and Sophie Tanno
January 20, 2024
Introduction:
Berlin (CNN) — Huge crowds of protesters have descended on cities in Germany, as demonstrations calling for a ban on the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) gain momentum.
Tens of thousands have already braved sub-zero temperatures this week to protest against the party, after it emerged senior AfD members discussed a plan to deport migrants en masse in revelations that have been compared to the Nazi era.
Crowds of up to 35,000 gathered in Frankfurt on Saturday under the banner “Defend democracy – Frankfurt against the AfD,” while a similar number of people turned out in the northern city of Hanover, German newspaper Der Spiegel reported.
Significant crowds were also seen in Stuttgard, Dortmund and Nuremberg.
In a video message issued Friday night, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed this weekend’s protests as “good and right.”
Germany Has Passed Japan for Third Largest World Economy
February 16, 2024 by Brian Wang
Official data has reports Japan economy in 2023 was $4.2 trillion in 2023, while Germany’s was $4.5 trillion. The U.S., the world’s largest economy, is expected to grow 5.8% to $26.94 trillion. China’s economy, the world’s second-largest, is forecast to shrink 1.0% to $17.7 trillion.
Germany tripled from the 1990s to today. The Japan and German were tied in 1970-1972. In 1979, Germany was 80% of Japan’s economy. Germany began reunification with East Germany in 1990. After German unification in October 1990, the economic performance of western Germany was initially strong. However, it deteriorated by 1992 and remained dismal for the remainder of the 1990s. During this time, the unemployment rate nearly doubled, as GDP growth averaged a meager 1.5 percent per year. Japan had an exceptional surge through the 1980s and into the 1990s. Japan had an economic bubble from 1986 to 1991. The Euro was launched in 1999 and it was an invisible currency for 3 years.
Bus Drivers Strike with Climate Activists in 57 German Cities by Berit Ehmke and Yanira Wolf
April 8, 2024
Introduction:
(Labor Notes) Public transit workers across Germany have broken new ground by coordinating our contracts—nearly all of them nationwide have expired over the last four months—and shutting down bus systems with strikes in 57 cities.
To add to the pressure, we’ve done something new for our union and for Germany: we’ve formed an alliance between local transport workers and climate activists, including the students who have been leading massive school walkouts.
The devastating effects of climate change are already rocking Germany: major heat waves, flooding, and water shortages. A growing movement demanding climate action has made real headway—our energy and industrial sectors have almost halved their climate pollution over the past 30 years. But on transportation, our third-biggest source, we’ve made nearly zero progress.
To beat climate change we need more buses on the road. We’re building a movement to double bus service. After three decades of cuts and privatization, we need a major federal funding boost.
But these jobs have become so tough that most agencies have huge worker shortages. To make the climate impact real, we’ll also need to raise the floor for wages, breaks, and schedules—making this a good enough job that workers will sign on and stick around.
