Germany is in a hard place economically. They are the industrial powerhouse of Europe. Unfortunately their major manufacturers are struggling and can no longer rely on China to increase sales. In fact with the rise of China's EV based companies many major German car brands are losing market share. To compound matters further the war in Ukraine means Germany can no longer rely on cheap Russian energy making their manufacturing base even less economical on the global level.

The German economy needs to pivot away from its export driven model but doing so is difficult. The average German has struggled for a number of years now and this is most keenly felt in East Germany. It should be noted that it is this region of Germany that is most supportive of these right wing/populist parties. The people in west Germany sees these parties in a less favourable light so the division is not just on the political level but also on the national. Germany and Germans are conflicted on the path they should take and this applies not only on the political level but on the economical too.

In any case, the average German struggles with mediocre wage growth and the prospect of working ever longer before receiving a pension is a source of angst. I do visit Germany on a fairly regular basis and it does seem like there are more homeless Germans than five years ago. I am actually planning a trip there at the end of January so can speak to a friend to see what it is like on the ground.