Overview
- In a Berlin keynote, the economic minister outlined measures including ending or reviewing first‑day sick pay, easing dismissal protection and extending working life.
- She called for a rigorous review of subsidies and flagged reduced heating-exchange support with greater individual cost responsibility.
- The program seeks lighter regulation, a modernized state, tighter limits on public debt and faster business formation, citing a 24‑hour company registration goal.
- Reiche framed the shift as necessary given high domestic energy costs and government forecasts of only modest, debt-driven growth in 2026–27.
- Unions including IG Metall and IG BAU denounced the ideas as harmful to workers, and the left-wing opposition signaled resistance as debate begins.