The German economy contracted in 2024. Politicians pledge to revive it.

German economic growth declined for the second year in a row in 2024, according to data released on Wednesday. How to revive it has become a central question as voters prepare to go to the polls next month to elect a new government.

Auto and machinery manufacturing fell sharply last year as increased competition, particularly from China, and slowing demand in Europe led to a 3% drop in production from the previous year. previous year. Construction, hit by high interest rates and rising costs, fared even worse, down 3.8% from 2023.

Germany’s economy, Europe’s largest, has been weighed down by high interest rates and energy costs, as well as persistent political uncertainty that culminated in the fall of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government in November. .

The country is expected to see slow growth in 2025, and more than a third of voters named the economy as Germany’s most important problem, according to the latest poll.

“While the risk of complacency persists, even after two years of stagnation, the hope is that any new German government will decide on a longer-term plan for economic reform and investment,” he said. writes Carsten Brzeski, economist at ING Bank. in a note.

Plans on how to return to growth dominate the agenda of all political parties as campaigning for the February 23 election intensifies.