CDU chief Merz does not rule out a recession in Germany, he recommends considering the core
Habeck reckons that more coal will be needed to save natural gas. At the same time, the governing parties want to meet the deadline when, ideally, Germany could stop burning coal for power generation by 2030.
The plans so far have been based on 2038. According to Merz, it is necessary to prepare for the fact that for the sake of energy security, the shift away from coal will slow down.
“I share the view of the finance minister (Christian Lindner) that we are facing a very difficult second half of the year, maybe really with a recession,” Merz said.
Lindner still expects year-on-year economic growth of 2.2 percent this year, but at the same time he does not rule out further economic difficulties.
At the beginning of the year, the government was counting on gross domestic product growth of 3.6 percent. Even more sceptical is the Confederation of German Industry (BDI), which now expects growth of only 1.5 percent.
