The country in the heart of the old continent, economists fear, is entering a spiral of prices and wages, crises in food and energy, and high inflation as a result of the war in Ukraine.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned that his country was “going through difficult days because of the situation in Ukraine”.
“Yes, we have difficult days in Germany as well, days that will change the world and change us, perhaps faster than we imagined,” Steinmeier added, during a concert on Sunday.
Steinmeier emphasized that “Germans need to prepare to be resilient, and to take austerity measures.”
Experts estimate that Germany’s economic losses as a result of stopping Russian gas may reach about 3 percent of its annual gross domestic product.
While the economic expert Veronica Grimm says that “the risk of the wage and price spiral increases significantly,” analyst Katharina Utermole expects “economic growth this year of only 1.8 percent, with inflation averaging 6 percent this year,” according to the German news agency.
The German Ifo Institute for Economic Research also expected a rise in the inflation rate to between 1.5 and 1. 6%, the highest rate since 1982.
The crisis of strengthening military defense
Germany did not allocate a large defense budget in recent years, but it made a historic radical transformation in late February following the Russo-Ukrainian war.
On February 27, it deducted 100 billion euros from its budget to modernize its army, as military expenditures will exceed about 2% of GDP, which may represent a burden on its economy.
According to the German newspaper “Bild”, the German government intends to acquire an Israeli anti-missile system.
German Chancellor Olaf Schulz said on Sunday that his country was considering buying a missile defense system to protect it from a possible attack from Russia.
In response to a question about whether Germany would buy the Israeli “Iron Dome”, he added, to the German Radio and Television Corporation: “This is certainly one of the things we are discussing, and for a good reason.”
Russian gas crisis
Europe imports 40 percent of oil and gas from Russia, led by Germany, which announced the cancellation of the “Nord Stream 2” gas pipeline with Moscow, which may affect it in the long run, especially with the absence of an alternative.
A few days ago, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the exclusion of Russian gas supplies from the European sanctions list imposed on Moscow.
He explained that “Europe has deliberately removed energy supplies from Russia from the sanctions list, because there is no other way to guarantee energy supplies in Europe to provide warmth.”
As for German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, he says: “If we don’t get more gas for next winter, we won’t have enough gas to heat all homes and run all industries,” according to the Associated Press.
Hussein Khader, a member of the German Socialist Party, says: “Europe, led by Germany, will resort to other alternatives, most notably renewable energy, instead of coal and nuclear power plants.”
He added to “Sky News Arabia” that “Germany will diversify gas sources, establish liquefaction plants, and turn to renewable energy, as well as aiming to reach climate neutrality in 2045.”
food storage
The fourth crisis that Germany is suffering from is the storage of food commodities, similar to what happened during the Corona crisis.
According to the German newspaper “Bild”, retail stores in some regions of Germany witnessed a great demand by citizens to buy food commodities.
“What is happening is that Germans appear to be hiding food for spring in the basement,” says Andrei Steber, director of the Edica retailer in North Rhine-Westphalia. “The shelves are empty in stores as a result of buying behaviour.”
For his part, German Nutrition Minister Jim Ozdemir appealed to the Germans not to fear and build unnecessary stocks because of the war in Ukraine and high prices.
“There is no need for that, we have secured the supplies,” Özdemir told Voice of Germany, adding that “representatives of the commercial sector confirmed that the situation is under control, and the supplies are guaranteed.”
Secret Logo Crisis
The fifth crisis appeared in Germany, due to the invasion of the symbol Z, which the Russian army uses to symbolize its forces participating in the Ukraine war, to express support for the Russian military operation, especially in the states of Bavaria and Lower Saxony.
As a result, the two states banned, on Sunday, this secret slogan, and it is exposing himself to a penalty of up to 3 years in prison, or a fine to anyone who raises this slogan during demonstrations or paints cars or buildings.
“It is incomprehensible to me how this symbol (Z) can be used in our country within the framework of tolerance for this crime?” said Boris Pistorius, Minister of the Interior of Lower Saxony.
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