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Politicians abandon election fight for holidays

Germany's general election may be looming, but it hasn't stopped the country's politicians heading off on their summer breaks in the middle of a campaign.

Published: 9 August 2013 16:08 CEST

Politicians abandon election fight for holidays

Photo: DPA. Angela Merkel on holiday in Italy in 2012.

With six weeks to go before polling day, lots of top politicians have gone on holiday, leaving the election trail cold, The Local found after ringing around offices from political parties.

Enjoying a week off so close to polling day would be unthinkable for politicians in the US or UK, but for the Germans it is a normal part of the summer routine – election or no election.

Yet it seems accepted here and Malte Lehming, a journalist at Berlin daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel and contributor to The Local, said politicians were right to go away and recuperate even in the midst of an election battle.

He said: “They have a demanding job, especially the chancellor. Hopefully, the more recuperated they are, the better they will work. Workaholics in an election campaign? No thanks.”

To politicians in other countries, the idea of sitting on a beach during an election stands in stark contrast to the run-ups to their polling days.

Norman Lamb an MP for the British Liberal Democrats and a health minister in the government told The Local that six weeks prior to election day was a hectic time in the campaigns he had fought. “It is a frantic period,” he said. “Normally we would be doing our day jobs as a constituency MP and ministerial duties. We would be at the heart of the campaign. The build-up starts months before.”

Chancellor Angela Merkel is currently on holiday in Italy, but one politician who has stayed at home, unable to waste a day of campaigning, is the main opposition leader Peer Steinbrück.

His party, the Social Democrats (SPD), sits at 23 percent in the latest polls – 17 points behind Merkel’s CDU/CSU – prompting a non-stop tour of the country which started in Hamburg on Thursday night.

He launched the tour by attacking Merkel. “I’m appealing to everyone who still has plans for this country,” he told a crowd of 2,500 supporters.

Tom Bristow

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Output is expected to expand 0.3 percent this year, the economy ministry said, up from a prediction of 0.2 percent in February.

The slightly rosier picture comes after improvements in key indicators — from factory output to business activity — boosted hopes a recovery may be getting under way.

The German economy shrank slightly last year, hit by soaring inflation, a manufacturing slowdown and weakness in trading partners, and has acted as a major drag on the 20-nation eurozone.

But releasing its latest projections, the economy ministry said in a statement there were growing indications of a “turning point”.

“Signs of an economic upturn have increased significantly, especially in recent weeks,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said at a press conference.

The ministry also cut its forecast for inflation this year to 2.4 percent, from a previous prediction of 2.8 percent, and sees the figure falling below two percent next year.

“The fall in inflation will lead to consumer demand — people have more money in their wallets again, and will spend this money,” said Habeck.

“So purchasing power is increasing, real wages are rising and this will contribute to a domestic economic recovery.”

Energy prices — which surged after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — had also fallen and supply chain woes had eased, he added.

Several months ago there had been expectations of a strong rebound in 2024, with forecasts of growth above one percent, but these were dialled back at the start of the year as the economy continued to languish.

‘Germany has fallen behind’

But improving signs have fuelled hopes the lumbering economy — while not about to break into a sprint — may at least be getting back on its feet.

On Wednesday a closely-watched survey from the Ifo institute showed business sentiment rising for a third consecutive month in April, and more strongly than expected.

A key purchasing managers’ index survey this week showed that business activity in Germany had picked up.

And last week the central bank, the Bundesbank, forecast the economy would expand slightly in the first quarter, dodging a recession, after earlier predicting a contraction.

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) presents the latest economic forecasts at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, April 24th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

Despite the economy’s improving prospects, growth of 0.3 percent is still slower than other developed economies and below past rates, and officials fret it is unlikely to pick up fast in the years ahead.

Habeck has repeatedly stressed solutions are needed for deep-rooted problems facing Germany, from an ageing population to labour shortages and a transition towards greener industries that is moving too slowly.

“Germany has fallen behind other countries in terms of competitiveness,” he said. “We still have a lot to do — we have to roll up our sleeves.”

Already facing turbulence from pandemic-related supply chain woes, the German economy’s problems deepened dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine and slashed supplies of gas, hitting the country’s crucial manufacturers hard.

While the energy shock has faded, continued weakness in trading partners such as China, widespread strikes in recent months and higher eurozone interest rates have all prolonged the pain.

The European Central Bank has signalled it could start cutting borrowing costs in June, which would boost the eurozone.

But Habeck stressed that care was still needed as, despite the expectations of imminent easing, “tight monetary policy has not yet been lifted.”

In addition, disagreements in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party ruling coalition are hindering efforts to reignite growth, critics say.

This week the pro-business FDP party, a coalition partner, faced an angry backlash from Scholz’s SPD when it presented a 12-point plan for an “economic turnaround”, including deep cuts to state benefits.

Christian Lindner, the fiscally hawkish FDP finance minister, welcomed signs of “stabilisation” in the economic forecasts but stressed that projected medium-term growth was “too low to sustainably finance our state”.

“There are no arguments for postponing the economic turnaround,” he added.