In a recent guest article for Table. Briefings, our Senior Advisor Klaus-Peter Schmidt-Deguelle makes one thing crystal clear: For Germany’s reset to succeed, both coalition partners must act decisively and implement long-overdue structural reforms without hesitation.“ The success of this next government hinges on whether it can quickly generate a real shift in public sentiment,” Schmidt-Deguelle writes in his op-ed. What’s needed now, he argues, is “a deep, drastic, realistic and most importantly swift reboot across multiple sectors.”
No more tinkering at the edges. It’s time to bring out the chainsaw especially when it comes to slashing bureaucracy.
According to Schmidt-Deguelle, CDU/CSU and SPD must take a brutally honest look at their own policies. Wishful thinking, he suggests, should be locked away“ in the back vaults of party headquarters until the next federal election.” Otherwise, this coalition is bound to fail.
Germany is at a crossroads. That’s why, he says, the Union and SPD must not only govern differently from the previous “traffic light” coalition but also communicate with a new sense of urgency and clarity.
Where Schmidt-Deguelle sees “financial time bombs” ticking, and what narrative the new government really needs – you can read all that in his full commentary.
