Germany’s alliance with the United States has proved incredibly expensive.
But they still love the United States because loving the United States is very moral and Germany is a very moral nation that does what they’re supposed to do.
CNN:
Germany’s economy, the largest in Europe, contracted for the second year in a row in 2024, official data showed Wednesday, underscoring the challenges facing the region as it tries to get economic growth back on track.
Germany’s gross domestic product fell 0.2% last year, according to the country’s Federal Statistical Office, following a contraction of 0.3% in 2023.
It’s the first time since the early 2000s, when Germany was grappling with high unemployment, that the economy has shrunk for two years in a row, according to Carsten Brzeski, global head of macroeconomics at pan-European bank ING.
The data comes just weeks ahead of a crucial snap election, called after Germany’s governing coalition collapsed late last year over disagreements about how to bolster the country’s weak economy.
“Hope is that any new German government would decide on a longer-term plan for economic reforms and investments,” Brzeski wrote in a note.
The troubles facing the German economy are captured by the crisis at the country’s largest manufacturer, Volkswagen. In December, the automaker announced sweeping changes to operations in its home country, including more than 35,000 job cuts and plans to shift some production to Mexico.
…
Data from the European Union’s statistics office Wednesday showed that industrial production in the 20 countries that use the euro increased slightly in November compared with October. Still, it remains 9% below its level seven years ago, partly as a result of energy prices kept high by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Capital Economics.
The interesting part is that there is no timeline on which Germany turns this thing around.
They would have to fix the relationship with Russia, which they are never going to be allowed to do.
The United States decides what Germany is allowed to do, because Uncle Sam is the big boss, and they are not going to let Germany be friends with Russia.
They won’t be allowed to turn their nuclear plants back on either.
Because of global warming.
Or no, actually not because of global warming.
Because of Fukushima.
Because Germany is a serious earthquake zone, you know? And after all, Fukushima killed everyone in Japan.
Germans are the most productive people in the world, and their entire history is about getting sabotaged and then apologizing for being sabotaged.