Oh, gracious. Over and over, I've covered the near-miraculous rise and epic missteps of the master of the Old Magoo, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as he finagled his way to the top, finally grabbed the brass ring, and then lurched from one panicked deal to pull him out of a hot spot to the next. All the while alienating and angering what few friends he had to begin with, and making new enemies daily.
Besides the push from the European Union to beef up defense spending at a time when the vaunted Green transition and importation of millions of refugees, most of whom exist only on the grace of the state largesse...
Germany refugee statistics for 2023 was 2,593,007, a 24.94% increase from 2022.
- Germany refugee statistics for 2022 was 2,075,445, a 65.28% increase from 2021.
- Germany refugee statistics for 2021 was 1,255,694, a 3.73% increase from 2020.
- Germany refugee statistics for 2020 was 1,210,596, a 5.57% increase from 2019.
...have been withering the legendary German industrial machine away on the vine, the wild German parliamentary system has strapped them with a weak-kneed leader manifestly incapable of dealing with any individual crisis, let alone the whole basket of ills he faces.
Where the German economy itself has been in a stall for some time...
Germany has had no growth since 2018. It’s even worse than that, growing government employment masks the self-inflicted implosion of industry. German economic model is structurally broken, more debt without serious reforms won’t change anything. But there are no reforms.
— Michael A. Arouet (@MichaelAArouet) July 31, 2025
Chart… pic.twitter.com/4al4iqdIB1
...the past few years have seen the toll taken on the once mighty German industrial machine by an enforced, unrelenting Green transition. This resulted in skyrocketing rates, unreliable electricity thanks to the nature of renewables, and all exacerbated by the stress of the Ukraine invasion's disruption of sorely needed fossil fuel supplies,
Two years ago, opposition leader and head of the Christian Democrats, Friedrich Merz, predicted as much, urging the then federal government to act immediately.
...What on earth could have caused this looming calamity?
Friedrich Merz, the chairman of the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has told a German news agency that the German economy is projected to be the worst-performing among the G7 nations this year.
Merz highlighted several concerning economic indicators, such as a rise in unemployment during the summer, a contraction in industrial production, and a significant 16% increase in bankruptcies in the first half of 2023. That has raised concerns about further economic decline and deindustrialization in the country.
“Germany is losing competitiveness. This is not an abrupt process that triggers an overnight economic crisis [and] instead, we are experiencing a gradual process of deindustrialization in our country. You have to take this very seriously [because] something is happening here at the moment that may no longer be reversible. The federal government must react to this now,” Merz cautioned.
Two years later, it's all in Merz's lap now.
Germany revealed a steeper contraction in its economy than first estimated in the second quarter, increasing the urgency for Chancellor Friedrich Merz to deliver on promises to reignite growth.
The 0.3% slump in gross domestic product was far worse than the preliminary reading of -0.1%, largely due to manufacturing weakness following a surge in US business at the start of the year to avoid tariffs.
With Merz having already flagged a “turnaround” in Germany’s prospects after two years of declining output, calls are growing for him to fulfill pledges to cut red tape, overhaul the labor market and bolster domestic consumption.
Germany's manufacturing, etc., represents nearly a third of the industrial output of Europe, with many subcontractors in other EU states as well.
As Peter St Onge says, if Germany falls, Europe takes a giant step towards being 'an open air museum for Chinese and American tourists.'
The German economy is in “free fall”with a 21% collapse in output thanks to green energy pixie farts and regulatory burdens.
— Peter St Onge, Ph.D. (@profstonge) August 27, 2025
Meanwhile, Trump's gunning to cart off Germany’s crown jewels to America. pic.twitter.com/vJxtlzli4H
St Onge says Germany lost some 446,000 'productive jobs,' which would equate to 2M here, but made up half that number with government hires.
That's unsustainable and also why the Trump administration has been cleaning out bureaucratic rabbit warrens.
The stress on average Germans is worsening daily, with alarming bankruptcy and unemployment filing numbers representing the highest in a decade.
Despite big promises from the ruling government, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s economy is overseeing an economy increasingly in shambles, with bankruptcies jumping 20 percent in July and unemployment reaching just shy of 3 million, with both figures representing 10-year highs.
...The unemployment situation is also worsening. The Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft indicates that 125,000 layoffs have been announced since July 1, and unemployment stands at 2.98 million, which is an increase of 170,000 compared to a year ago.
Federal Employment Agency head Andrea Nahles expects the 3 million mark to be surpassed in August, which would represent the most unemployed Germans in the last ten years.
The German business community is out of patience and has declared the Merz honeymoon over.
The grace period provided to the German government that took office in the spring is now over. Germany’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) sent a serious warning to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, arguing that “things cannot go on like this.”
The change of government in Berlin did not lead to an improvement in economic sentiment, even after a hundred days. Now, industry is growing desperate to change the path of the federal government, according to Berliner Zeitung.
The paper cites three recent headlines to illustrate how bad Germany’s situation is: “Germany is threatened by the third year of recession in a row,” “50,000 jobs were lost in the automotive industry in one year,” and “Steel production fell by 12 percent.”
The Chamber of Commerce (DIHK) sees the situation so dire for the country at large that they want 'sweeping' changes announced this fall and for Merz to follow through on promises made during the campaign (I can only think they have no idea who they're dealing with here). The sclerotic, bureaucratic regulatory environment needs to be modernized, and they want Merz's shaky coalition to govern with 'courage' to accomplish this.
...“The German economy is deeper into the crisis than many people want to see,” Melnikov wrote. As a first positive step, Melnikov mentioned investment packages and incentives for infrastructure and security.
However, this is not enough. Since the fiasco over the electricity tax, the confidence of many companies has been declining again. A clear direction is now needed: The tax burden must be reduced, the economic acceleration package must be implemented, and public administration must be modernized.
Even Merz can see the forest for the trees, acknowledging it's a 'structural' crisis, but cutting some timber down is the problem for the befuddled chancellor.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said tackling the country’s economic challenges is proving to be a far greater undertaking than he initially anticipated.
Germany, as noted by the Hungarian below, has a national character issue - they have lost theirs.
...The seriousness of the situation was acknowledged by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz himself when he convened a crisis meeting of the leading politicians of the CDU.
This is not a temporary weakening, but a structural crisis in the economy. Our country is no longer able to keep up with global development, its competitiveness has decreased significantly,” the chancellor said in his speech on Saturday.
“Germany has lost its character as a large and strong economy that drives Europe forward. Currently, it is rather holding it back, due to what are deep, structural problems,” Bence Bauer, director of the MCC Hungarian–German Institute, previously told the Hungarian Nation.
So, what does Merz do?
This was an interesting move, being Germany and all.
I don't think this was on the DIHK's list either.
When the German economy starts contracting, simultaneous with the German Govt talking about mandatory military service, historically speaking things don't always work out well for Europe. 😬https://t.co/j68dlg6xMX
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) August 28, 2025
Welp.
JUST IN - German industry sheds almost 250,000 jobs as downturn in Europe's largest economy is picking up speed — Reuters pic.twitter.com/bXWcZg9WOr
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) August 26, 2025
No better time to raise an army when you can't raise hopes.
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