Germany in 2001Article Free Pass
One of Germany’s most pressing economic problems, a makeover of its overburdened 120-year-old pension system, was finally addressed in 2001. In May the parliament reformed the retirement law in an effort to deflect the demographic time bomb ticking in the country’s pay-as-you-go pension scheme, where ever-fewer workers supported a rapidly rising number of pensioners. After years of bipartisan bickering and a last-minute protest by the trade unions, Germany introduced a dramatic change in its retirement regime. Under the new law the government would for the first time support private provisions while at the same time cutting state pension benefits. Economists and the business community welcomed the reform as an important step toward addressing the problems of Germany’s graying population, stretched public finances, and high labour costs, but they warned that the reform had been so diluted by political compromise that it would not provide lasting relief for the state system. The Schröder government also abolished a restriction, dating from the time of Adolf Hitler, on retail store discounts and, under pressure from the conservative opposition, provided tax relief for small and medium-sized enterprises that tax reforms in 2000 had neglected.
Another item on Schröder’s reform agenda gained prominence because it did not materialize—a renovation of the labour market. Burdened with rigid regulations and high labour costs, German companies were reluctant to hire new workers. As a result, few new jobs were being created, and Germany’s unemployment rate was among the highest in Europe. The stubbornly high number of jobless presented a growing political problem for Schröder because he had explicitly tied his political future to job creation. Yet the government did little to make hiring easier or cheaper for businesses; in several respects it made it harder. Soon after entering office Schröder undid the reform efforts of the previous government by boosting sick pay and worker protection against layoffs. Later he imposed restrictions on employers trying to hire workers on fixed-term contracts. In 2001 he expanded labour’s role in management and instituted a right to part-time work.
The new regulations were an apparent effort by Schröder to reconcile labour unions with pension reform and to court the traditionalist left wing of his SPD. His jockeying alienated German industry, however—especially small companies, which complained that the new labour laws added red tape and cost. The move dealt a major blow to Schröder’s image as a market reformer and threatened one of his biggest political assets—the hard-won support of Germany’s business community, which traditionally sided with the Christian Democrats or the small, pro-market Free Democrats. Another blow to Schröder’s reform credentials came from his reluctance to reform Germany’s expensive and inefficient health care system despite continually rising contributions to public health insurance.
The unsolved structural problems in the German economy became more visible with the economic slump that ended nearly a decade of unprecedented growth and productivity gains across the industrialized world. Heavily dependent on exports, Germany was hit hard by the slowdown, especially that in the U.S., one of its most important markets. The September terrorist attacks in the U.S. put additional strain on the world’s third largest economy.
The outlook steadily worsened throughout 2001. The government and economists were forced into several downward adjustments of their growth forecasts for the year. By the fall Germany—already the slowest-growing economy in Europe—began to fear a recession. At the same time, inflation hit an eight-year high and unemployment continued to rise. In March Schröder promised to push the number of jobless to under three million Germans. One month later he adjusted that pledge to under 3.5 million. By the autumn that goal also appeared impossible to reach, and the chancellor merely said there would be fewer unemployed Germans than when he took office in 1998.
Schröder’s perceived inaction yielded him lower approval ratings and negative newspaper headlines. “Do something, Chancellor,” said Bild, Germany’s leading tabloid, in a large summer headline. “For the first time in Schröder’s term, voters feel like they’re back in the paralyzing stagnation of the Kohl era,” echoed the news magazine Der Spiegel in September. Schröder responded to the growing pressure by announcing a “calm hand” policy, free of short-term activism, fresh debt, and costly economic stimuli.
With his image as a reformer stained, Schröder was certain to face a tougher-than-hoped-for leap into the election year of 2002. Throughout 2001 he repeated well-worn and ambiguous campaign slogans, such as “Innovation and justice” and “Security in change.” It was uncertain whether he could continue to walk a tightrope between needed reforms and reassurance of his left-leaning core clientele. The months to come also held another challenge for which Germany meticulously planned throughout 2001—the introduction of the euro, Europe’s common currency, as legal tender in January 2002.
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