From: lessgovt@gmail.com   
      
   One of Germany’s top businessmen delivers a scathing verdict on the Merkel   
   era   
   by Rainer Zitelmann,  Aug 07, 2023, The Examiner    
   Germany’s business executives have long kept silent or opportunistically   
   acquiesced to anti-market policies. The boards of major automotive companies,   
   including VW and Mercedes-Benz, applauded the “energy and mobility   
   transitions” initiated by    
   former chancellor Angela Merkel. At the same time, they failed to speak out   
   against Big Government mistakes, such as the European Union's ban on the   
   combustion engine from 2035.   
      
   But now, many have had enough. One of Germany’s best-known business   
   executives, Wolfgang Reitzle (formerly of BMW, Ford, and Linde), spoke out in   
   the clearest of terms last week. In an article in the German daily Die Welt,   
   he declared, “Germany is in    
   decline.”   
      
   His critique: Productivity improvements have been Germany’s hallmark for a   
   long time, but unit labor costs have been rising for years now. “Germany is   
   no longer among the top ten countries in Europe in terms of gross domestic   
   product per capita,”    
   he writes. “We fell out of the list of the 20 most competitive countries in   
   the world.”   
      
   Germany is currently governed by a coalition of two left-wing parties, the SPD   
   (Social Democrats) and the Greens, together with the market-oriented FDP,   
   which is trying to prevent the worst from happening. Reitzle, however, does   
   not lay all of the blame    
   on this government alone.   
      
   Above all, he believes, the decline has its roots in the era of Merkel, who   
   ruled Germany from 2005 to 2021: “16 years under Chancellor Angela Merkel   
   were too much even for a country as strong as Germany,” says Reitzle,   
   adding, “During the Merkel    
   era there was not a single structural reform that would have made the country   
   more efficient. However, two fundamental decisions will have a lasting impact:   
   the energy transition and opening the borders to uncontrolled migration.”   
      
   He accuses Germany of having massively expanded its welfare system while   
   failing to invest in the future. For a country as rich as Germany, Reitzle   
   continues, the infrastructure is in a “disgraceful” state. He also   
   criticizes the EU’s policy of    
   constantly imposing new regulations on European companies. As an example,   
   Reitzle cites the leading chemical company BASF, which has to contend with   
   14,000 pages of chemical industry regulations.   
      
   BASF recently announced plans to cut thousands of jobs in Germany and invest   
   billions in China. The company blamed its decision on the horrendous cost of   
   electricity in Germany and the excessive red tape and bureaucracy. Many other   
   companies have already    
   announced that they will leave Germany and expand their operations in the U.S.   
   or Asia.   
      
   Reitzle criticizes Germany’s increasing shift away from market economics,   
   pointing out that the share of the public sector has now grown to 50%:   
   “Faith in the state is increasing — support for the market economy is on   
   the wane.” Germany already    
   has by far the shortest annual working hours in the world, Reitzle explains,   
   at 1,349 hours (the U.S. has 1,791 hours). “And we are currently discussing   
   a four-day week,” he adds, “if possible with two days working from home   
   for a better work-life    
   balance.”   
      
   For Reitzle, the fundamental problem is that policymaking in Germany is   
   entirely subordinated to the issue of “climate protection.   
      
   “No other country in the world has a more foolhardy climate policy than   
   Germany, which seems to believe it can save the world’s climate virtually   
   single-handedly,” he writes. Germany has abandoned nuclear power and even   
   shut down perfectly    
   functional nuclear power plants at a time of massive energy shortages.   
   “Electricity is being replaced by nuclear power from France and coal-fired   
   power from Germany, among other sources … For years to come, we will have   
   the dirtiest electricity in    
   Europe after Poland — and will not make any significant contribution to   
   climate protection,” Reitzle says.   
      
   The flaw in Germany’s energy and climate policy is the maxim “renewables   
   only.” Delivering on this policy would mean more than doubling the amount of   
   electricity generated, and doing so quickly. Capacities for wind and solar   
   power would have to be    
   more than quadrupled. Because wind and solar power are highly volatile, we   
   would need huge storage and backup capacities. “However,” Reitzle   
   explains, “this is neither technically feasible nor affordable for a country   
   like Germany. It is simply    
   insanity.”   
      
   In addition to Merkel, Reitzle’s criticism is also directed at Economics   
   Minister Robert Habeck of the Green party: “Habeck’s ‘Renewables Only’   
   plan will fail. He and the Greens, together with a large, quasi-religious   
   community of left-wing    
   environmentalist journalists, are on an ideological journey that can only mean   
   gigantic losses of prosperity in Germany.”   
      
   Rainer Zitelmann is the author of the book In Defense of Capitalism.   
      
   https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/one-of-germanys-top-b   
   sinessmen-delivers-a-scathing-verdict-on-the-merkel-era   
      
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