Senior figures in Germany’s governing coalition have issued stark warnings about the country’s economic trajectory, admitting that long-held assumptions about rising prosperity may no longer hold.
In an interview with t-online, Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said that, for the first time since the founding of the Federal Republic, Germany could no longer guarantee that the next generation would be better off than the current one.
Reiche attributed the slowdown to weakening exports, persistently high energy prices, and demographic pressures.
To revive growth, she argued, Germans would need to work more, encouraged by raising the retirement age and incentives to increase weekly working hours. Measures such as tax breaks or expanded childcare provision could encourage more people to move from part-time to full-time employment, she said.
Reiche also criticised the practice of sending skilled workers into early retirement while companies complain of labour shortages, saying all sides would need to compromise.
The comments come amid broader concern over Germany’s economic direction following years of weak growth and industrial decline. Decisions by governments led by both the centre-right CDU and the Social Democrats, such as the phase-out of nuclear power and the rapid break with cheap Russian gas supplies, have contributed to higher energy costs for industry.
Meanwhile, CDU parliamentary leader Jens Spahn told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland that 2026 must be “a year of growth, not new debt,” describing economic recovery as a “question of destiny” for the country.
Spahn called for all policy proposals to be judged by whether they support growth and said social security contributions should be stabilised or reduced.
