Germany chose to close its nuclear power plants in the middle of Europe's energy crisis. That is stupidity at an insane level.

It's a combination of factors, all of which are going against Germany at the moment: no more cheap Russian gas (self inflicted), closure of nuclear plants (self inflicted), excessively fast move towards renewables (self inflicted), challenges to the automotive industry and the transition to EV (slow response, lack of vision), reliance on mechanical engineering and lack of innovation in digital (cultural and institutional issues), poor demographics, uncontrolled immigration (not in the sense of actual numbers, but in the sense of inability to pick up productive immigrants), excessive regulation and bureaucracy. It's not looking good. The de-industrialization that has plagued the US for the last 40 years but is now over is starting in Germany (and most of Europe).

Some economists have projected that both the U.S. and parts of Europe could slip into a recession for a portion of 2023. A global recession, defined as a contraction in annual global per capita income, is more rare because China and emerging markets often grow faster than more developed economies. Essentially the world economy is considered to be in recession if economic growth falls behind population growth.

Why doesn't anyone talk about the destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, this is one of the main reasons, is there a reason why this awful blow to the German economy is being ignored?

I'm an expat, lived on different part of the world in last fifteen years. After five years in Germany I have to say bureaucracy here is killing everything! Every small move takes a decade, how can we move forward like that :(

In Europe, there's a growing sense of neglect towards the younger generation. They face lower salaries, longer work hours, and increased responsibilities while witnessing a surge in billionaires, particularly in countries like Germany. The housing market adds to their woes, as property prices soar, making it difficult to afford homes, let alone start families. To compensate, cheap labor from abroad is often favored, leading to frustration among the youth, who feel betrayed. People aren't inherently racist, but this frustration arises when governments prioritize external labor over addressing domestic issues. It's high time politicians acknowledge and tackle these pressing concerns rather than resorting to distractions. The younger generation deserves meaningful change.

I am German living in Italy since 35 years and I come back to visit my country every year. What I noticed since maybe 2010-2013 and especially the past years is a more and more weakening Germany : bad maintaining of infrastructure as streets, 'Autobahn', trains, I noticed a dirtier Germany in public places, I have the impression that the digitalization is behind other countries, even Northern Italy seems to function better. There is this sensation that the country lost connection to the future.... 😢

I automatically translate "A great power in trouble" to "A great puppet in trouble"..

Germany is too ineffective, too controlled by fear, too little prepared to take risks, too bureaucratic, too un-digitalized (years ago, I were in a smaller town in Greenland, where broadband connections were better than in Berlin!), too afraid to invest, too afraid of change, too worn-down in its infrastructure (just look at the bridge over the Nord-Ostsee Kanal), too much living on its past. Just look at Germany still discussing if there should be Covid 19 regulations in place this autumn and winter. We are way past that in Denmark.

I love the guests say relying on Russian gas was a big risk, while not dare to hint a word about the one who blew up nord stream.

I'm British and feel privileged to have been able to live in Germany for 7 years and visit for holiday purposes many times since. I am hoping this is just a minor or a temporary blip. The whole of Europe needs Germany to be punching its weight - financially, politically and militarily. When I was doing business in Germany (years ago now) German red tape was horrendous. Please turn this round quickly. Mit Freundlichen Grossen.

Bringing high potentials people in country is easier than keeping them and making a safe atmosphere for them to stay. The problemes I have confronted in Germany since I am here is hearth breaking. I don't know how I endure them. I came here with open eyes, now I regret. I will leave as soon as I graduate. And there are lots of students like me with same thought and experiences.

The German business model is mostly based on manufacturing. In times of high energy costs, supply chain disruption, demand shock and an alarming immigration rate you have the perfect mix for a crisis

I have moved to Germany some years ago and i have encountered things that i never thought could in Germany happen. Lost application documents in governmental offices, delays in train transport system, faults in my salary slip balance by company's financial department, no place for my kids in kindergartens , endless waiting lists to find a logo doctor though we pay our taxes and so on....I think Germany pushes to get more and more immigrants but at the moment lack the necessary infrastructure.

Having lived and set up a company in Germany, i can say that setting up business there is the biggest regret of my life. I only did it for "ease" of personal tax declaration but never in my wildest dreams did i expect a company to be hit for so much money for making profit. By the time you pay taxes and fees about 35% of profit is taken from you. How or why would any company want that? That is why company's will find it start there and innovate and they are left with the old "trusty" companies

The thing is that they failed to protect their national interest... America will never go against it national interest and this is what ever country must learn. Take advantage of alliances and always keep a balance with allies to protect national interest. 🎉🎉🎉

Your "ally" blew up the gas lines supplying you with cheap energy, just like they threatened they would .. And Germany just accepted it.

You mean it is not blindingly obvious. NO MORE CHEAP RUSSIAN GAS!!!

As a resident of Germany for the last 9 years, I bent over laughing when this woman described Germans as ever having a ´´positive excitement´´ 🤣

When i came here for my Masters, I thought Germany to be somehow similar to US but boy was I wrong. As an IT student with background in software development with experience, I couldn't land a student job in my own field because of the German language requirement. And it's the same case with so many skilled workers who can't land the job because of not having German language skill.

How about nordstream pipelines? Didn't it affect Germany directly?

Germany made a terrible mistake by closing down nuclear. And coming from East Europe it always blew my mind how bad the Internet infrastructure is. Also how reluctant people are to technology (like digital finance, GMOs, nuclear...etc.)

Refusing truth and love makes people insane.

I lived in Germany for 10 years…Situation here is really bad now..Restaurants are now empty..I’m leaving this year..I can’t live like this..

Sometimes, the wrong team of leadership can easily cause troubles for the country.

1. Dispose of the cheap Russian gas/oil, 2. close of the nuclear power plants, 3. unprofessional politicians, 4. de-risk with China, 5. trapped into war, 6. sanction of Russia

No one mentioning the fact that Germany is also expected to pay for the household income of all other euro governments.

Regarding digitalization issues such as public Wifi, I have to say that the German population & economy is significantly more distributed than in other countries such as France and the UK that have mega capitals

No evil Russian gas + no Chinese machine market + no ending in Ukraine = German recession, going for depression.

Germany has to buy expensive commodities from USA, Canada, Australia. It cannot purchase Russian gas, oil and other materials due to pressure from USA and China use this to strengthen its position as a major producer of goods. VW ID3 in China cost 16.000e and in Germany 40.000e.

You can see what is wrong just from the format of this show. Everyone seems tranqualiesed or superficial. Simply people no longer care, this is the comfort and inconcience togheter right here. Europe is on the edge of a full blown war and all what politicians NGOs can be concerned is how to go green. That is also mad.

Most infuriating: for years all of our problems have been stated and criticized. But they were either ignored by the governement or discussed without ever changing anything. Take bureaucracy for example... it will never get better. Everyone talks about it but noone does anything against it.

When government stops acting according the will and interest of the people it is no longer democracy.

Denied from cheap energy means Germany is losing its competitive edge. It s as clear as day to me.

This was a qualitative approach towards the problem. I was expecting a more analytical approach rather than a sentimental one

Exact same situation with South Africa. The energy transition is economically disadvantaging

Democracy is in danger when politicians rule against the people. This is happening right now in Germany. Energy migration etc. lots of things to worry about and all due to our government.

Unfortunately Germany is currently in an extremely difficult position mainly due to short sight vision and naivety. Germans have always been very conservative and adverse to change. The country has been considered the Economic Powerhouse of Europe during the last decades but governments failed to push for innovation and internationalisation. As mentioned in one of the comments and i can confirm, several companies not long ago still had fax machines!!! The public sector still works almost like in the 70s sending letters to a country of over 80 million people. On the other hand, in 2023 if you try to speak english in any public institution you are simply told you must speak german or ignored. How can we attract highly skilled foreign workers like that. Neighbour countries like Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Austria and Switzerland are a lot more attractive to highly skilled foreigners. The other problem to attract highly skilled foreign workers are now the current house/ rental prices. In many cities people work to pay a rent. On the other hand Germany provides asylum to large numbers of people mainly non europeans which struggle to integrate and live out from social support meaning no positive contributionto the german society. All this sounds like a great formula in case you want to destroy your own country. If you then add factors like inflation, no more cheap energy, not being able to rely anymore on China as the biggest importer of german products the picture becomes pretty dark for the next years.

Germany (and Europe) have to be leading on the energy transition, because there was just a report out confirming that we have almost reached the often-talked about tipping point, where climate change will even further accelerate. And there is _no one_ else who can’t currently take the leadership position. To say it is crucial (and urgent!!), is an understatement!

Im amazed that a population that are supposed to be well educated has not reacted sooner to the stupidity and lack of political leadership. Now its to late for Germany to recover economicaly, poliyicaly and industrialy because it lots thr cheap energy sources.

Our condolences from greece 🇬🇷🇬🇷

The upward spiral was also because of the supplied Russian gas. Cheap energy builds economies and countries

I think the taxes that all Germans have to pay. are too high and are paralyzing the country and the economy. and it is shameful that a business-friendly party like the FDP would rather focus on redistribution from down to up than tackle this problem

From the outside I think Germany needs to a few things. 1. Cut low skill migration, go for high skill migration. 2 .Build loads of nuclear, greenest, safest energy known to mankind. 3. Somehow try and get that cheap Russian gas back, for the short term. 4. Build loads of houses and other infrastructure.

Had Germany done the complete opposite of each of their energy decisions in the last 20 years, they would be in a far better position today.

Interesting how the discussions avoided the Ukraine war, sanctions on Russia, and the energy costs hike.

How did they accept the criminal attack on energy sovereignty on NordStream 2?

I spent three weeks travelling around Germany in August 2023. I noticed out in the country and villages every house had a massive stack of logs outside. Green agenda only seems to apply to the cities and industry. Beautiful country by the way. Clean and mostly litter free.

After 50 years this is the very first time for me to see a nation like Germany to follow the American interests instead of its own. Amazing 😢😢😢 and sad to say.

Thanks Putin. Now everyone knows where there are and who they are.

Well done ❤

Lachnummer der Welt - live und in Farbe 🎉

In the last 10 years i had to use Fax to cancel contracts in Germany. The tax system is a mess. Lots of regular people have to use Steuerberater services🤦

Digitisation of Germany is not about bad WIFI, it is about that most other Nordic counties have all their government forms and contact to the public and companies made digital. You communicate all your dealings with the state or authorities through digital transactions. You never have to show up at an office or write a letter on paper.

I have worked for 11 yrs in Germany and then moved to the US. Now I am about to retire & when I contacted Rentenversicherung they send me a bunch of paper forms to fill them up and mail them back. Same info could easily be collected online, but unfortunately they don't offer this capability online. In addition, they do not offer email communication to ask potential Qs. As far trying to contact the consulate at San Francisco, good luck to get a response. While you can apply online if you have all the info available and you are 100% clear, if you do have Qs, the only real option to resolve the Qs is to fly to Berlin where Rentenversicherung is located. Kind of "odd" experience..

What I noticed in this conversation….. they are not talking with relax , they are very .. very careful in choosing words how they going to express their opinions. I think Europe let Americans to rule them!

This is what happens when a group of politicians only care about the interests of the United States and ignore the interests of their own country.

The key factor in Germany's economic downturn is high energy costs. No more cheap Russian gas. No more nuclear. A ban on fracking. Importing expensive LNG and a decline in exports of manufactured goods is bringing about recession in Germany. Relying on "green" energy too much will spell disaster. Bureaucracy is horrendous there and a national 'reluctance to change' conservatism is holding the country back in a global digitised world.

"The problem was there and it was known - but nothing was done about it." That, in a nutshell, is Germany's problem. And when they "tried something" they failed - miserably.

This isn’t Germany’s first rodeo. While these indicators are concerning, moreso since integration with partners is rather tight, Germany has shown remarkable, unprecedented (economic) recovery before

Wait! What? Reliance on Russian energy was high cost? I thought since your Ukrainian War and the destruction of Nordstream and sanctions on Russian energy you were getting your energy from the West? I don’t know but I hear Europe is paying much more now for energy from the west. I do know our energy companies in the US are making record profits. 🤷‍♂️

What's wrong with the US ? 1. Deteriorating Homeless people issues 2. Serious Drugs abuse problems 3. Mass shootings / Guns violence issues 4. Massive Shoplifting problems 5. Extremely Poor Governance / Financial Controls ????? Will Biden say : These are key elements of Democracy , we are promoting these around the World ! ! ! Germany should keep distance from its US big brother !

It is striking to me that none of the commentators on screen ever smiled. In contrast, in American TV interviews, professional commentators smile a lot more and have far more facial expressions. Is this a Germany-vs-US cultural difference?

"What's happening to the world's fourth-largest economy?" Nothing, he obeys orders from the US.

One needs to ask a simple question to the German rulers: Russia was not a threat to Germany or any other EU country, German economy was thriving on availability of cheap Russain energy and there was prosperity all around. Then why was there a need to so eagerly jump in the anti Russia American bandwagon? Why wasn't Minks 2 agreement, negotiated by Merkal and Macron, implemented? Why Germany became party to UK and the US - the two countries that scuttled Russia- Ukrain ceasefire deal in March 2022 and prolonged the war? Germans have no one to blame but their rulers for their economic turmoil.

Now u know why the US destroyed the north stream

Germany’s ‘issue’ is that after over 3 generations since the end of thr War it still acts as an American vassal’ in foreign policy. Instead it should be a ‘friend’. Germany needs to forge stronger economic ties with China, Russia, MidEast countries like Iran and stage Saudis. NATO ‘unity’ means the USA decides and the rest follow.

It's tragic to see Germany is not doing well. I believe, current government needs to retrospect there leadership and communication skills. Some people feels that they are too easy to bend down sacrificing there own interests. To tackle far right, economic boost should be frontier in the short term and then slowly make other transition. And for economic boost, the need bring back some of the nuclear facilities and to do that they need to clearly communicate with people. Confidence building among population is crucial. People are very confused now by their politicians. There is a lack of clarity. Politicians need to speak in clear one voice in order to make people know what are they going to do to solve the crisis. In addition, they need to show the changes or positive outcomes. Problem is not people, problem is with leadership. Crisis can be tackled with good leadership and definitely not with far right, hopeless, manupulating parties.

Whats wrong with Germany? Germany is not been runned from Berlin but Washigton, thats the problem.

When your leaders are puppets of others you shouldn't expect any better.

Germany Craftsmanship is superb BUT creativity is poor !

Because US doesn't want Germany have good relationship with Russia, Germany usually had discounted oil and gas.

The fact that Germany can self-criticize itself and recognize deficits is already good - we believe in you, it’s going to be fine as long as you have intelligent and hardworking people in power

Going through the German job adverts it’s obvious that vast majority of ads for highly skilled IT workers are in German. Nothing wrong with it, sure. But why would you deliberately close yourself off from the global workforce due to the language barrier? Like it or not, but posting job specs in English increases your hiring chances exponentially. At least in IT.

Best video ever❤🎉

I live in Germany and life is still very good. This video is a bit exaggerated.

Finally DW is looking after its country rather then lobbying for USA

Germany​ needs​ to​ see facts as they are. "Self Damaging" is the​ main theme​ here in many aspects.

Even my phone doesn't have a password 1234😂😂

i need to get an appointment for my visa application. i have tried everyday for the last three months and everytime i get "no appointment available" - i feel like the government here is on strike. honestly, i would say the German people are great and a nice place to live mostly. But there are BIG problems culturally and politically. its always someone else's problem in Germany and no one takes accountability for the state of the nation. its falling behind in every area, not just GDP and economics. health, education, digitalization, energy, technology, just general government services are collapsing. why would a skilled worker want to come here?

German innovation and manufacturing and Russian resources were a perfect arrangement. One without the other is a disaster for both. Maybe that was the plan after all?

German tanks are burning on the eastern front and the country is in trouble? What a surprise!

I don't think the German populace is rejecting democracy. What you're seeing is the erosion of confidence in the current administation because people feel the current policies are not working - sky high costs for energy, food, etc.

Nice panel ❤

NATO mission: keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down

The western world is full of hypocrites. Total emissions are not as relevant as per capita emissions in determining which countries make the most impact on the carbon footprint. India’s carbon footprint is very small on a per capita basis compared with countries like Germany and the US.

Never have I heard Germany described as “the sick man of Europe”…only Turkey in the times of the last Ottomans

It’s primarily because of Brexit. You can’t cut out a large integrated economy like Britain and expect to be cost efficient. The second factor is high energy costs. Hope this winter isn’t too severe.

Tragic mistake was to let America dictate your foreign policy. Just admit that. Your foreign policy actions are at the heart of your economic woes.

Germany is a good example of what happens when you are not fact based, science based, evidence based.

Intro Soundtrack is banger

This is what happed with Romania in 90's. Chemical factories closed... Large industrial factories overcome by new tehnologies... Countries that sell at a loss. We were also dependent on gas from Russia. The only way is to invest in new technologies.

They cut off their own gas pipeline what did they expect. They had it coming

This was the weakest panel I have ever seen in DW. And that says a lot. Nobody talks about Nordstream & the biggest attack on industrial infrastructure in peacetime. Nothing about on BASF moving to Louisiana, USA due to cheap gas over there. Nothing about how Germany is buying LNG from the USA at double the prize than Russian gas. They address nothing at all that can shine light on the current situation Germany is in. It is still strange to see how intimidated the German people have become. Tragic! And that AFD is right wing is ridiculous.

I went Germany for IT job but Did not find any job there Alhamdulillah now working in bangladrsh in a IT company 🎉

Just like every other country at the moment. Everyone is struggling not just Germany or France or South Africa and so forth.

It is very strange that they do not raise the issue of cheap gas supply from Russia which was powering German heavy industry.

without cheap energy Germany is done...Bricks is coming and that wall will not fall that easily

Germany do not dare to say a single word about the destruction of Nord stream pipeline. So what do you expect anymore? Germany is not a sovereign country anymore.

Germany didn’t care about other countries about there car manufacturers. Now it’s germanys turn. They are about to feel a lot of pain like other countries did.