Overview

  • Author: Katja Gelinsky
  • Source: FAZ
  • Date: 30.11.2025
  • Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

Summary

The German economy has been stagnating for six years. This has massively damaged citizens' confidence. A current Allensbach survey shows a dramatic shift in sentiment: The majority doubts the competitiveness of German companies. The reputation in areas such as innovation, job security, and climate protection has particularly suffered.

  • 54 percent of Germans doubt the competitiveness of German companies (10 years ago: 82 percent saw it as a strength)
  • Only 19 percent still consider German companies innovative (2024: 35 percent)
  • 50 percent believe that companies secure jobs (2024: 68 percent)
  • Only 12 percent credit companies with climate protection efforts (2024: 21 percent)
  • Family-owned companies perform significantly better: 77 percent trust them to secure prosperity and jobs
  • 86 percent see the training of skilled workers as the most important measure for competitiveness
  • 64 percent demand state protection against foreign takeovers

Opportunities and Risks

Opportunities

  • Family businesses continue to enjoy high trust and can serve as anchors of stability
  • Broad support for reducing bureaucracy (82 percent) and better business conditions (80 percent) creates political pressure to act
  • Focus on domestic skilled worker training could trigger long-term qualification initiative
  • Critical awareness can accelerate necessary reforms

Risks

  • Loss of confidence could be self-reinforcing: Less investment, less innovation, more emigration
  • Only 37 percent support qualified immigration – problematic given acute skilled worker shortage
  • Growing support for protectionism (64 percent) and subsidies (42 percent) threatens market efficiency
  • Digitalization is seen as urgent by only 57 percent – too little for a modern economy

Future Outlook

Short-term (1 year): The loss of confidence will likely continue if the new government does not quickly implement visible reforms. Pressure for protectionist and interventionist measures is growing.

Medium-term (5 years): Without structural reforms, Germany risks falling further behind in international competition. Family businesses could gain importance as anchors of stability, while publicly traded corporations continue to lose reputation.

Long-term (10-20 years): The combination of skilled worker shortage, low willingness to accept immigration, and innovation weakness could sustainably weaken the business location. A shift toward more state control would further reduce dynamism.

Fact Check

Well-Documented

  • The Allensbach survey figures are representative and clearly compare with previous year values
  • The six-year stagnation of the German economy is documented
  • The different perception of family businesses versus other corporate forms is clearly measurable
  • The turbulence at "Die Familienunternehmer" regarding AfD contacts is publicly documented

Missing Data and Transparency

  • No breakdown of survey results by age groups, regions, or education level
  • No information on the exact sample size of the Allensbach survey
  • Membership list of the association "Die Familienunternehmer" is not publicly accessible
  • No data on actual economic indicators of family businesses versus other corporate forms
  • Unclear whether the AfD debate will influence the image of family businesses in the medium term

Brief Summary

Confidence in the German economy has reached a low point – more than half doubt competitiveness. The population simultaneously demands reforms and more state intervention, revealing a contradiction. The new government must act quickly to stop the downward trend – otherwise a self-reinforcing crisis of confidence threatens.

Three Key Questions

  1. Freedom: How can the balance be found between the desire for state protection (64 percent for takeover protection) and the necessity of open markets for innovation and growth?

  2. Responsibility: Why do 63 percent reject qualified immigration while 86 percent see skilled worker shortage as the most pressing problem – who bears responsibility for this gap?

  3. Innovation: Why do only 19 percent consider German companies innovative and only 57 percent see digitalization as urgent – what incentives are needed to reestablish innovation as a societal priority?