Fahimi calls for a radical change: This is how Germany wants to save the economy!

Fahimi calls for a radical change: This is how Germany wants to save the economy!

On May 16, 2025, Chancellor Friedrich Merz promised to revitalize the stagnating German economy, which has been without growth for three years. At the IMK Forum of the Hans Böckler Foundation, the chairwoman of the German Federation of Trade Unions, Yasmin Fahimi, calls for not only companies to be strengthened, but also social areas to meet the challenges of the current economic situation. fr.de reports that Fahimi also sharply criticizes Donald Trump's economic policies as they weaken the global economic outlook and promote political and economic dependencies.

Fahimi advocates a realignment of German economic policy in order to utilize Germany's and Europe's own strengths. It calls for investments in essential areas such as energy supply, digitalization, healthcare, education and social housing. A particularly pressing issue is the demand for an unlimited infrastructure special fund for the expansion of the electricity network, the cost of which, according to IMK, is estimated at around 650 billion euros. A stronger tie of public money to collective bargaining payments is also on the agenda, while Fahimi criticizes the CSU for its contradictory austerity announcements.

Reactions to Trump's economic policy

Fahimi's criticisms are placed in the context of global economic developments shaped by Donald Trump's policies. In April 2025, inflation in the euro zone fell to 2.2 percent, which is partly interpreted as a positive effect of Trump's economic decisions. Trump is weakening the dollar, which is strengthening the euro and depressing import prices for goods from the US. At the same time, high import tariffs in the USA are dampening the global economy and acting as a brake on inflation. sueddeutsche.de highlights that this could force European companies to export less to the US, thereby reducing sales and putting jobs at risk.

In this context, the European Central Bank (ECB) has cut key interest rates for the seventh time since last summer in order to stabilize the economy. The current deposit rate is now 2.25 percent, while the key rate was 4.0 percent in June 2024. In contrast, the US economy saw a contraction of 0.3 percent in the first quarter and inflation of 2.4 percent in March.

These economic pressures also have an impact on US politics. Trump plans to name a new Federal Reserve president in 2026. While he expects interest rate cuts from current Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, there is no sign that Trump wants to remove him early. This situation illustrates how closely politics and business are intertwined and what challenges await both the German and European economies in the coming years.