German Chancellor Olaf Scholz came with an upbeat message to the World Economic Forum in Davos: Europe’s biggest economy is back, after being painfully cut off from Russian gas.
(Bloomberg) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz came with an upbeat message to the World Economic Forum in Davos: Europe’s biggest economy is back, after being painfully cut off from Russian gas.
Germany’s transformation toward a climate-neutral economy “is currently taking on an entirely new dynamic,” Scholz said in a speech on Wednesday. “Not in spite of, but because of the Russian war and the resulting pressure on us Europeans to change.”
It was a point which Scholz had first made in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Tuesday, where he had stated that Germany would ride out the war in Ukraine without a recession.
As an example for Germany’s economic renewal, Scholz cited in Davos the construction of a new LNG terminal at the port city of Wilhelmshaven in less than seven months. “Germany can be flexible; we can be unbureaucratic; and we can be fast. I spoke of a new ‘Deutschland-Geschwindigkeit’ in this regard, a new ‘German speed’,” the chancellor said.
With regard to the reconstruction of Ukraine, Scholz appealed to private investors and even spoke of a “Ukrainian economic miracle,” referring to the situation in post-war Germany. “Private-sector capital will play a key role here,” he said. “I know that many companies in Germany and beyond are very aware of the opportunities that a Ukrainian economic miracle could offer them.”
Those who had hoped that the German leader would also respond to demands for sending Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine, however, were disappointed. Scholz said that Germany had already sent “IRIS-T or Patriot, artillery, and armored infantry fighting vehicles, marking a profound turning point in German foreign and security policy.” But he didn’t mention any battle tanks, which are desperately needed in Ukraine.
Finally, the German leader made clear that he doesn’t intend to stay in power until 2045, thus potentially surpassing the 16-year-long stint of his predecessor Angela Merkel.
“If I may make a prediction: My successor will address you at the World Economic Forum in 2045,” Scholz concluded his speech. “He or she will present Germany as one of the world’s first climate-neutral industrial nations.”
–With assistance from Katharina Rosskopf.
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