Germany is not the sick man of Europe, but a tired man in need of a "good cup of coffee" of structural reforms, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said today.
"Germany is not the sick man," he said at a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Lindner said Germany was "a tired man" after the recent years of crisis, and its low growth expectations are probably awake-up call.
What Germany needs now is a "good cup of coffee, which means structural reforms," he said.
Speaking at a panel about the global economic outlook, he added that the year 2023 had been "a call for action" and said challenges include the rise of artificial intelligence and the threat of fragmentation in the global economy.
The euro zone's largest economy contracted by 0.3% last year amid persistent inflation, high energy prices and weak foreign demand.
Lindner expects a higher level of growth in the mid-term in Germany, he told Reuters in an interview this week.
But economists have said that recent drags on growth would still be around in the first months of 2024 and could, in some cases, have an even stronger impact.
Separately, when asked in Davos if he would support the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in seeking a second term, the Taoiseach said he would wait until President von der Leyen had confirmed if she wanted a second mandate.
The European Peoples Party (EPP), of which Fine Gael are members, is expected to endorse its Commission president candidate when it meets in Bucharest in March.
"I think in the round she's done a good job," Leo Varadkar told RTÉ News.
"I know she's faced some criticism over her initial strong support for Israel after the terrorist attacks there, and I share some of that criticism - indeed I made them myself - but in the round, I think she has been a very good President of the European Commission on issues like Ukraine, on issues like the pandemic [and] the new Green Deal.
"She's really reinvigorated the Commission and can point to a lot of success in term term to date in my view."
Additional reporting Tony Connelly
