Germany becoming ‘museum of prosperity’

GERMANY is at risk of becoming a “museum of prosperity”, a business chief warned, as train drivers launched their longest ever strike amid tensions over the country’s finances.

Rainer Dulger, the president of Germany’s Confederation of Employer Associations, claimed businesses had lost trust in Olaf Scholz’s coalition, which he accused of having “failed across the board”.

“We must be careful that we don’t go from being the engine of the EU to a museum of prosperity,” he said.

“Our neighbours are looking at us with worry. It hurts me to see how low Germany has sunk in the last two years,” Mr Dulger added.

His comments yesterday were the latest sign of mounting frustration with the chancellor’s government over its handling of the economy and came as German train drivers began a six-day strike over pay and working conditions.

The walkout marks the longest industrial action in the national railway’s history.

It began at 2am yesterday for passenger trains and will start this evening for freight trains, amid warnings that the latter action will exacerbate turmoil along trade routes badly affected by the Red Sea shipping crisis.

GDL, the German train workers’ union, is trying to secure a €550 (£470) per month wage increase, a decrease in working hours and compensation to account for inflation.

In response, Deutsche Bahn has accused the union of “holding the country hostage”.

The strike comes after thousands of farmers blockaded city centres and motorways earlier this month in protest at proposals to phase out agricultural diesel subsidies.

Reports of government in-fighting and a migration crisis are also pushing many German voters into the arms of the far-right AFD, which is set to make major gains in local and European elections later this year.