In his New Year’s message, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz acknowledged the tough global landscape but expressed confidence that “Germany will get through it.”
“So much suffering; so much bloodshed. Our world has become a more unsettled and harsher place. It’s changing at an almost breathtaking speed,” Scholz said, according to the text of his speech released by his office ahead of the broadcast on New Year’s Eve. “The result is that we, too, are having to change. This is a worrying thing for many of us. In some, it is also causing discontent. I do take that to heart.”
The German leader, however, struck an optimistic note and highlighted the obstacles the country successfully overcame in 2023, both domestically and internationally. “Our strength resides in our readiness to compromise – in the efforts we put in for one another,” Scholz asserted.
‘We held back economic downturn’
With inflation having sunk from an average of 7.9% in 2022 to 3.2% in November 2023, the lowest level in two years, Scholz spoke of a much brighter economic outlook than a year ago — even if Germany’s rate of inflation is still some way higher than the Eurozone average of 2.4%.
He also referenced Germany’s replenished gas supplies, which he described as “filled to the brim” and said the country avoided an economic downturn. “Do you remember where we stood one year ago?” Scholz asked. “Numerous experts had forecast an economic downturn of three, four, five percent. Many feared that prices would keep on rising. There were concerns about power cuts and cold homes.
“Things have turned out differently,” he concluded. “Inflation has gone down. Wages and pensions are going up. Our gas storage facilities are filled to the brim for the winter.”
“We held back that economic downturn,” Scholz added. “We saved energy, and we made timely preparations. We all did – together.”
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-undeterred-by-global-turmoil-scholz/a-67860274
