Dhe economic recovery following the Putin shock is progressing more slowly than expected at the beginning of the year. This is shown not only by the forecast corrections by the economic research institutes, but also by the subdued expectations of German business, political and administrative leaders. Not even one in four believes that things will tend to improve in the coming six months.
Disturbing: Behind this finding there is obviously a deep concern about the competitiveness of the location, especially in the executive floors of the companies. This is indicated by the results of the new elite panel, for which the pollsters from Allensbach again surveyed almost 500 decision-makers on behalf of the FAZ and the magazine “Capital”.
The majority of top managers and entrepreneurs agree with the thesis “that Germany has passed its zenith and its best years are behind it”. The political leaders, on the other hand, mostly reject this judgment as too pessimistic.
Reasons for the skepticism of entrepreneurs and managers are provided by a long list of major competitive disadvantages. It is led by the high energy costs, which 77 percent of those surveyed see as a disadvantage in international competition. Labor shortages, government regulation, digital backlogs and infrastructure in need of renovation follow at some distance. Labor costs and the tax burden are further negative points, but these currently seem to be less important than they used to be. Irrespective of this, the decision-makers show little sympathy for demands for the introduction of a four-day week with full wage compensation, which are raised by parts of the unions and the SPD.
Sobering were the answers given by top management when asked how good the chances were of regaining lost competitiveness. Above all, the decision-makers from the economy are extremely skeptical that this could succeed. Only 17 percent believe in a successful race to catch up. Confidence is greater in politics, but here, too, the pessimists have the upper hand.
The verdict on the work of the traffic light coalition, from which the elites initially had high hopes, is correspondingly critical. The vast majority of business leaders (76 percent) now believe that the federal government’s policies are weakening Germany. Almost half of the top politicians surveyed (47 percent) share this belief. A source of resentment is the abundance of detailed regulatory interventions by the state, especially in the areas of energy, transport and employment, keyword minimum wage. Half of those surveyed think the state intervenes too much.
Allensbach boss Renate Köcher points out how much this criticism contradicts the self-perception of the traffic light. “While there is a broad consensus in business that regulation is a competitive disadvantage, the SPD, Greens and FDP claim that their interventions are helpful and fulfill the desire for planning security,” said Köcher of the FAZ. However, the majority of the decision-makers surveyed from business and politics preferred market-based instruments such as a CO2-Award to combat climate change instead of tight government requirements.
The approval of a discounted industrial electricity price is therefore surprisingly low in the elite panel: Although many associations and corporations loudly demand this subsidy, only 52 percent of those surveyed by Allensbach consider such a help to relieve companies of electricity costs to be sensible. From Köcher’s point of view, this reflects the insight that high electricity prices can only be reduced through a permanently larger supply of energy, not through aid that is quickly canceled if majorities change or money runs out.
#Elite #Panel #Germany #passed #zenith