CDU leader Merz on RTL/ntv
“There needs to be a different mood in the country”
April 18, 2024, 8:33 p.m
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Union faction leader Merz complains about the economic situation in Germany. Left behind among the larger nations, the country has a lot of catching up to do. The CDU leader said in an interview with RTL and ntv what he believes needs to change.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz has called for a change of course in economic policy. Labor costs are too high and continue to rise, as are the burdens of bureaucracy, he told RTL/ntv at the Ludwig Erhard summit. “Our energy costs are too high and are not falling, contrary to what the federal government has announced several times.” And the tax burden is also “too high compared to international standards and it is not going down.” The FDP is indeed talking about an economic turnaround. “But I don’t see them.”
Merz complained that Germany had a recession last year, making it “the only country with a shrinking economy among the world’s major industrial nations.” For a trend reversal, what is needed above all is “a different mood in the country,” said the Union faction leader.
With a view to the financial industry in Germany, Merz stated that there is a need to catch up: “We don’t have a really broad and deep capital market in Germany.” As an example, he cited the companies Biontech and Curevac, which were founded in Germany but went public in New York. “Something like this shouldn’t happen. Europe needs a stronger capital market and Germany has to be a leader in this.”
When asked whether he would still set up a company in Germany today, the CDU politician said: “I would probably – depending on what product it is and what idea – start one in Germany. But I don’t know whether I would could stay in Germany if the general conditions don’t really improve significantly.”