The German Chancellor speaks about instability in the country's prosperity.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke of instability in Germany's prosperity amid a slowdown in economic growth.
According to RIA Novosti on August 25, the Daily Telegraph reported that, speaking at a regional party conference, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany could no longer afford to maintain its social welfare system.
The newspaper quoted Merz as saying: "The level of social welfare we have today can no longer be sustained by the economic capacity of our country."
Furthermore, the German Chancellor emphasized that he would continue the policy of tightening immigration controls and developing measures to support businesses.
Germany's finance minister argued for a fundamental reassessment of the welfare system as spending continues to surge, surpassing the record €47 billion of 2024.
Once a leading exporter in Europe, the German economy has slowed down significantly since 2017, with GDP growing by only 1.6% compared to 9.5% for the rest of the eurozone.
The German economy contracted by 0.2% in 2024, following a 0.3% contraction in 2023 – the first time since the early 2000s that the economy has experienced recession for two consecutive years.
Industrial production declined under the left-leaning "traffic light" coalition of the previous administration of Olaf Scholz and continued to decline under the current government, with GDP falling by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2025.
Meanwhile, spending on social welfare has boomed and is expected to continue rising this year as Germany's population ages and unemployment increases. While the majority of benefit recipients are German, a significant number are also foreign nationals.
