Business Daily Media

Men's Weekly

.

Germany "rested on its laurels" too long, report finds

LOS ANGELES, USA - Newsaktuell - 31 January 2025 - High levels of governance have masked a slow decline in Germany, with political, economic, and social fractures "festering over years", a new scientific report released only weeks ahead of the February 23 parliamentary elections concludes.



On February 23, Germany elects a new Bundestag. The issue of migration plays a particularly important role, not least for supporters of the far-right AfD party - seen here at a demonstration in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin, the seat of the Bundestag, in 2022. (Photo by Christoph Soeder/dpa)
On February 23, Germany elects a new Bundestag. The issue of migration plays a particularly important role, not least for supporters of the far-right AfD party - seen here at a demonstration in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin, the seat of the Bundestag, in 2022. (Photo by Christoph Soeder/dpa)

"It has become clear that Germany rested on its laurels for far too long", the BGI Germany Report on the country's governance performance says. It is based on the Berggruen Governance Index (BGI) and was conducted by researchers from the Los Angeles-based Berggruen Institute think tank, the Luskin School of Public Affairs at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and the Hertie School, a German university.

In their report "Germany 2025 - Slow decline in governance performance erupts into crisis of government as geopolitics worsen" the researchers conclude that the country's government and administrative systems have appeared increasingly sclerotic and hesitant to adopt necessary changes. Effective, often painful reforms are urgently needed, but political and economic constraints make them difficult to implement, the researchers write.

The 2024 BGI measures democratic accountability, delivery of public goods and state capacity on a scale from 0 to 100. It analyses the years from 2000 to 2021. According to the report, Germany has lost ground on all three measures, with structural problems festering since the "deceptively benign" years of the chancellorship of Angela Merkel (2005-2021). The Democracy Accountability Index score, for example, slid to 93 in 2021 from a near perfect 99 at the beginning of the century.

The data "suggests that some of Germany's state capacity and democratic accountability challenges were masked by economic growth, driven by the success of its export-oriented model during the 2010s", the report says. Chief among Germany's challenges are economic troubles that have worsened in recent years, largely stemming from a lack of public investment during that period in areas such as digitalization and transport infrastructure.

On February 23, Germans go to the polls early after the ruling three-party coalition consisting of the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) collapsed in November. Intra-government fighting over how to get the country's ailing economy back on track was a main factor of the break-up.

At the same time, social trust is declining in Europe's largest economy. However, a possible new government under the conservative CDU/CSU alliance and its candidate for the chancellorship, Friedrich Merz, seems poised to exacerbate divisions rather than resolving them, the researchers say.

The economic difficulties heighten uncertainty and discontent, the report argues – with migration emerging as the other major flashpoint. Rhetoric on economic scarcity is used to highlight tensions over migration, which are exploited by both the extreme right and left. That debate has been exacerbated by a recent deadly stabbing in which a migrant facing deportation from Germany is the main suspect.

Yet immigration is essential to Germany's future growth, the BGI report says: "Any future government will have to attempt to reconcile anti-immigrant attitudes with the social reality of integration and the economic necessity of attracting foreign-born workers."

Merz is promising a hard line on migration in case of an election victory. Despite provoking outrage from other political parties, Merz on Wednesday (January 29) pushed through a vote in parliament on proposals for tightening immigration controls. "Current asylum and immigration policy jeopardizes the security of the people and the confidence of all of society in the state," the text of the motion by the CDU/CSU says.

The passed proposal includes a request to the German government to turn back asylum seekers at Germany's borders. But even more incendiary in German politics has been Merz's willingness to break long-standing taboos and use votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in order to pass the motion. All long-established parties in the lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag, had previously said they would not work with the AfD, with many Germans alarmed at the rise of the party in recent years in a country still scarred by its Nazi past.

According to the latest opinion polls by the five major polling institutes, the conservative CDU/CSU is clearly in the lead, polling at between 28 and 34 per cent. Second comes the AfD with 19 to 21 per cent, followed by the SPD with 15 to 19 per cent. The current German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is a member of the SPD. The Greens are at 12 to 15 per cent in the opinion polls, while the FDP this time may not clear the 5-per-cent-threshold necessary to enter the Bundestag.

----------------------------------------------

This text and the accompanying material (photos and graphics) are an offer from the Democracy News Alliance, a close co-operation between Agence France-Presse (AFP, France), Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA, Italy), The Canadian Press (CP, Canada), Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa, Germany) and PA Media (PA, UK). All recipients can use this material without the need for a separate subscription agreement with one or more of the participating agencies. This includes the recipient's right to publish the material in own products.

The DNA content is an independent journalistic service that operates separately from the other services of the participating agencies. It is produced by editorial units that are not involved in the production of the agencies' main news services. Nevertheless, the editorial standards of the agencies and their assurance of completely independent, impartial and unbiased reporting also apply here.

Further coverage by the Democracy News Alliance can be found in the DNA digital newsroom at https://www.presseportal.de/en/nr/174021

Hashtag: #DNA

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

News from Asia

Jupiter Neurosciences Launches Nugevia™ Website and Opens Pre-Orders for Groundbreaking Longevity Supplements

Targeting the Multi-Trillion Dollar Longevity MarketHONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 27 August 2025 - Jupiter Neurosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: JUNS) ("Jupiter" or the "Company"), a clinical-s...

HID Unveils Next-Generation FIDO Hardware and Centralized Management at Scale

The Next Generation of HID’s FIDO Portfolio Features Hardware Authenticators and a Centralized Management Experience that Simplifies Passkey DeploymentHONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 27 ...

Marking 30 Years of Excellence, EtonHouse International Education Group Pledges $3 Million to EtonHouse Community Fund to Strengthen Community Impact

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 27 August 2025 - Marking 30 years of excellence in education, EtonHouse International Education Group, together with E-Bridge Pre-School, has pledged $3 milli...

Trend Micro Named a Leader in Exposure Management by IDC MarketScape

Measurable reduction of operational silos and cyber risk delivered with Trend Vision One™ Cyber Risk Exposure ManagementHONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 27 August 2025 - Trend Micro Inc...

Genius Mind Expands Service Scope Beyond Academics to Include Coding, Financial Literacy, and AI Skills

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 27 August 2025 - Genius Mind, one of Singapore's trusted names in home-based education matching, has announced the expansion of its offerings to include codi...

Better Than Normal Launches Integrated AI Marketing and Coaching System for Singapore’s Service Professionals

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 27 August 2025 - Better Than Normal Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based brand strategy and AI marketing consultancy, is transforming how service-based professionals es...

Atlas Consolidated Secures USD 18.1 Million Series B Funding led by Tin Men Capital to Accelerate Global Adoption of HugoHub

The Asia-based Banking-as-a-Service provider aims to significantly accelerate the growth of HugoHub, Atlas’s modular cloud-native digital banking platform SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 27 ...

Together Diamonds Launches in Singapore as the First Keepsake Diamond Atelier for Life’s Milestones, Not Just Memorials

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 27 August 2025 - Together Diamonds, Singapore's first homegrown keepsake diamond atelier, has officially launched with a mission to transform life's mileston...

TCMA leads Thai cement industry to reaffirm climate action leadership towards Net Zero 2050 at 2025 TCMA Technical Conference and Exhibition

BANGKOK, THAILAND - Media OutReach Newswire - 27 August 2025 - Thai Cement Manufacturers Association (TCMA) successfully hosted its flagship event, the "2025 TCMA Technical Conference and Exhibi...

Tanoto Foundation Develops Impactful Future Leaders at Tanoto Scholars Gathering 2025

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 27 August 2025 - High unemployment among educated youth and a lack of leadership readiness are significant challenges on Indonesia's path to its "Golden Indon...

Workplace DMs, Reinvented: Deputy Messaging, Purpose-Built For Shift-Based Teams

Deputy, the global people platform for shift-based businesses, has launched Deputy Messaging, a fully integrated, real-time communication tool designe...

Revolutionizing Fulfillment: How Virtual Warehousing is Changing the Game?

The e-commerce landscape is evolving more rapidly than ever, and the way businesses are managing their fulfillment is also revolutionizing. At the...

SME lender Dynamoney welcomes new CEO, Brett Thomas

Strengthens growth ambitions and signals expanded offering Dynamoney, a leading commercial finance provider for Australian SMEs,  has today appoint...

The cost of ignoring AI governance in business

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer the promise of a distant future: it's active, embedded, and already shaping decisions across industries. H...

Quickli launches new SMSF product as free beta for limited time only

The leading technology provider for Australian mortgage brokers, Quickli, has answered the prayers of brokers yet again with the launch of a stand...

Portable Monitors for Coding and Programming Students

Today, coding and programming require more focus and efficiency. But, the most essential thing it demands is ample screen space. Students can stru...

Sell by LayBy