Overview
- ZDH president Jörg Dittrich says Germany remains stuck in a years-long economic weakness with very poor business sentiment.
- He warns that failure to act will fuel distribution conflicts, cost jobs, and strain the financing of statutory health insurance.
- He backs labor-time flexibility, pointing to the coalition plan to allow weekly instead of daily maximum hours, which trade unions oppose.
- He calls for cutting controls and documentation requirements to restore trust in entrepreneurial activity.
- He describes a sideways craft sector with quiet firm closures and job losses, slight growth in apprenticeships, and rising wages likely to push prices higher.