The business associations have been criticizing the federal government unusually heavily for some time now – especially the Chancellor. Problems are not noticed, criticism is brushed aside and demands are not responded to. Today Scholz meets four men who are angry with him.
It is well known that Chancellor Olaf Scholz does not suffer from excessive self-doubt. If this were different, he would be looking forward to his meeting today with the leading business associations with horror. Because the criticism that the Chancellor recently received from there was exceptionally harsh.
Martin Wansleben, General Manager of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, recently told the Bavaria media group that there is a lot of frustration in the ranks of DIHK member companies: “Something like a loss of trust in the government. You have the feeling in the companies that you have your worries and needs of not being noticed by politicians.” He has heard the Chancellor say several times that the businessman just complains. “Two worlds collide.”
Siegfried Russwurm, President of the Federation of German Industries, stated in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” at the beginning of April that the first half of the traffic light coalition’s reign had been “two lost years”. He also criticized Scholz’s communication: “We often hear the quote from the Chancellor ‘The complaint is the merchant’s song’. This can also be used to dismiss our analyses, but it shows that the seriousness of the situation is obviously being underestimated in the Chancellor’s office.”
“Lost trust in the federal government”
Jörg Dittrich, President of the Central Association of German Crafts, said in February that the mood in the German economy and the craft sector was bad and that there was a lack of political reliability. The federal government must act where it is in its own hands. “The bureaucracy is not the fault of Russia or Putin,” said the ZDH boss.
Rainer Dulger, President of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations, said in January that companies had “lost trust in the federal government.” The state associations of the BDA are now “running out of patience”.
The dissatisfaction among business associations is particularly great because they have the feeling that they are not being noticed in the Chancellery. “Before our last meeting with the Chancellor, the four leading business associations sent him a paper with ten concrete reform ideas,” said Russwurm. “Answer from the Chancellery: so far none.” Business has “submitted 442 concrete suggestions” regarding the planned bureaucracy relief law. The government has taken in eleven.
“Consternated” and “stunned” after meeting with Scholz
The four major business associations presented the ten concrete reform ideas in a fire letter to Scholz at the end of January. After a meeting with the Chancellor in March on the sidelines of the craft fair in Munich, the business representatives were “consternated” and “stunned,” writes the “Süddeutsche Zeitung.” According to the newspaper’s information, Scholz did not address any of the ten points in the conversation and instead praised his government.
The Chancellor’s sentence, criticized by Wansleben and Russwurm, was already made publicly: “As a former mayor of Hamburg, I know that the businessman’s greeting is a complaint,” said Scholz after the meeting in Munich. He indirectly accused the business representatives of badmouthing the country. “Of course it doesn’t help when a lot of lobbyists and political entrepreneurs worsen the mood in the country because people then keep their money in their savings accounts and don’t invest.”
This time there will be no public appearance after the conversation between Scholz and the representatives of the BDA, BDI, DIHK and ZDH: the conversation is confidential and will take place as part of a closed meeting of the leading business associations. “The exchange with business and associations is important to the Chancellor,” emphasized a government spokeswoman on Friday. However, according to a count by the “Bild” newspaper, this cannot be proven based on the number of meetings that have taken place. Since January 2023, there have only been six meetings with employers’ associations, but 25 with union representatives.