Peer Steinbrück sees Germany’s scenario as unprecedented – and calls as soon as ignored “elephants in the room” | EUROtoday

Former Federal Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück has described Germany’s present scenario as unprecedented and on the identical time criticized his personal participation in authorities throughout the Merkel period. “As long as I can remember, I have not experienced such a concentration of challenges, and I also remember the financial market crisis of 2008/09 as incomparable,” stated Steinbrück within the “Spiegel” top-level dialogue with journalist Markus Feldenkirchen.

At the identical time, Steinbrück criticized the politicians presently appearing. “I’m a little surprised at how little politics has communicated the dimensions and consequences of this turning point.”

Steinbrück was self-critical about his personal time in authorities. “We were all the ones who didn’t want to see the big elephants in the room,” he stated. Among these “elephants” he included “the question of defense capability”, the dearth of competitiveness and the “enormous demographic pressure on the social security systems and the associated over-complexity of this high cultural asset, the welfare state”. The deficits in digitalization, infrastructure and “too little investment in education” have additionally been ignored for too lengthy, says Steinbrück.