André Kasimir, who owns building firm Kasimir Bauunternehmung, told BBC News that Germany will soon be “the sick man of Europe” again.
The unfortunate nickname originates from 1999 when the Economist branded Germany the “sick man of Europe” due to its economic struggles – before World War One the declining Ottoman Empire was branded similarly.
Kasimir said building new homes in Germany has become impossible despite housing shortages near major cities such as Berlin.
He added: “The government does not have a clue what to do to make it easier for us to build and to live.”
Earlier this week, the Bundesbank said: “There is still no recovery for the German economy. Output could decline again slightly in the first quarter of 2024. With the second consecutive decline in economic output, the German economy would be in a technical recession.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz may face an uphill battle to spark a recovery as his coalition government remains divided over how to fix the economy.
The Social Democrats, Greens, and Free Democrats are all at odds.
The Social Democrats and the Greens want to loosen the purse strings and increase public investment by reforming Germany’s ‘debt brake’ policy – Germany’s constitutional way of restricting borrowing.
But Christian Lindner, finance spokesperson for the Free Democrats, wants to keep the debt brake and cut taxes.
