Industry Day Showing the Chancellor candidate

Status: 06/22/2021 6:12 p.m.

How can the climate change succeed and Germany be preserved as an industrial location? The Chancellor candidates gave outlooks at the Industry Day. In the end there was nothing more than friendly applause.

From Eva Ellermann, ARD capital studio

German industry is worried: climate neutrality by 2045 – how should Germany, a country of industry, export and innovation, achieve that?

The head of the Federal Association of German Industry (BDI), Siegfried Russwurm, fears that new climate protection goals and specifications will overwhelm the industry: “Just to raise the bar, although athletes and coaches don’t yet know how to cope with the lower ones – that is not a successful training strategy. And to do that as a trainer, and certainly not to talk to the athlete about it beforehand. ”

Merkel’s last day of industry

Chancellor Angela Merkel does not find it difficult to commit to Germany as an industrial location, but she warns that self-evident things have to be worked out over and over again.

It is her last appearance at an Industry Day and she uses it to make demands on the hosts on the way to climate neutrality: “We urgently need – we should work with the BDI – a forecast for electricity demand in 2030. The Assumptions that the electricity price will not increase are probably not sustainable. Then we need a plan that requires more line construction than we have planned today, “said Merkel.

SPD Chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz shares the Chancellor’s diagnosis and uses it to attack Federal Economics Minister Peter Altmaier. He assumes constant electricity consumption until 2030 – Scholz adds: “Let me say it loud and clear: the electricity lie.”

Scholz presents himself as a doer. He promises the industry that electricity will remain affordable for them. “That is why we will abolish the EEG surcharge by 2025 and reorganize the taxes and surcharges in the energy sector,” said Scholz. “My goal is an industrial electricity price of four cents.”

Laschet: no tax increases

Competitor Armin Laschet is not that specific. The Union chancellor candidate shows understanding for the concerns of the industry. “My idea is that in 20 years’ time we will still have a steel industry, still have a chemical industry, another automotive industry – then climate-neutral,” says Laschet. “But if you do not formulate this goal at the beginning, but just keep increasing guidelines and limit values, issuing bans, you will in the end gamble away the status of the industrialized country.”

The “Corona Method” with regulations down to the smallest detail does not fit the future. Laschet promises: less maneuvering and no tax increases.

There is no getting around climate neutrality, emphasized Annalena Baerbock. Image: dpa

Of course, Green Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock knows that this is her address too, but she emphasizes that there is no getting around the goal of climate neutrality: “Whether you like it or not – the competition is about who will be the markets of the future first achieved climate-neutral, in the future it will also have the edge in terms of economy and thus socio-political. ” The course must now be set for a social and climate-friendly market economy, said Baerbock. All three candidates for Chancellor appear a bit nervous at their show in front of the most important German business association. At the end of the day there is friendly applause for everyone, but no more at the German Industry Day

In view of the progressing vaccinations, the German industry expects the economy to pick up significantly in the coming months. In terms of production, he expects “a strong plus of eight percent compared to the previous year,” said the President of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Siegfried Russwurm, at the opening of the Hanover Fair. At the start of the corona-related digital industrial fair, the BDI, the Association of German Mechanical and Plant Engineering (VDMA) and the Central Association of the Electrical and Electronics Industry (ZVEI) presented their annual forecasts.

When will the upswing come?

In the past few months, German industry has been an important driving force behind the economic recovery in Germany. That is why the current forecasts of the three major industry associations were awaited with great excitement. And although the big upswing is likely to be a long time coming, the prospects for the industry are better than feared – provided, according to the unanimous assessment of the associations, that the lockdown measures do not need to be tightened any further. The forecasts are based on the assumption that the previous restrictions will be scaled back in the coming months and that vaccination will be successful.

“No further conditions”

Many companies received significantly more orders again, said BDI President Russwurm. There are already more incoming orders than before the crisis. A prerequisite for recovery is “largely reducing pandemic-related restrictions by early autumn” – and that there are no further requirements for the manufacturing industry. With the help of general practitioners and company doctors, Germany must also become more flexible and speed up when it comes to vaccinating. Russwurm also pointed out that the extended lockdown would have consequences in a number of areas. According to the updated BDI forecast, economic output is likely to increase by three percent in 2021. That is half a percentage point less than initially assumed.

Increased prognosis

The Association of German Mechanical and Plant Engineering (VDMA) has increased its forecast for the production volume in 2021 by around three percentage points to up to seven percent. Above all, the good demand from Asia, especially from China, is encouraging. In the USA, impulses would come from the economic stimulus program launched by President Joe Biden. “The EU is also recovering step by step, albeit a little more slowly,” said association president Karl Haeusgen. However, he restricted the fact that Corona still unsettled and burdens companies. In addition, there would be structural change in the automotive industry and, in some cases, delivery problems. “However, mechanical engineering is showing itself to be resilient even in this difficult phase.” The VDMA boss warned politicians to implement uniform pandemic regulations and develop a long-term strategy. “However, it now also needs unity, clarity and concrete political plans for the time after.”

Positive mood in the electrical industry

ZVEI President Gunther Kegel was also confident for the electrical industry. “The electrical industry got off to a positive start in 2021,” said Kegel. This year a production increase of five percent could be achieved. “If you look at the orders received in the first three months, things can possibly go even better.” Capacity utilization was almost back at the previous year’s level at 82 percent in the first quarter of 2021. Incoming orders also generated optimism. In February alone there was an increase of 13 percent over the previous year. On the debate about mandatory corona protection requirements in the industry, Kegel said that over 90 percent of the companies in his industry were already testing. “This means that another tightened lockdown is not only unnecessary for the industry, it also makes no sense.”

Networking and automation as a topic

The fair in Hanover is considered to be the largest industrial show in the world. In online presentations, live streams from exhibitors, numerous video conferences and a new networking tool, the companies focus on technologies for networking and automation in production and logistics. In particular, contributions for more energy efficiency are to be shown. Economic policy rounds, specialist lectures and panel discussions are also planned.