The German financial superpower isn't flying high these days. Europe’s largest economy, which was in a technical recession in early 2023 as its blue-chip index hit a record high, continued shrinking in the third quarter of 2023. Famously a long-time net exporter to other countries, global demand has chipped away at exactly that strength, leading to stagnancy and reversal.
But its woes extend beyond the global trading flows. This week, Germany faced protests by farmers and a national train drivers’ strike, both of which have disrupted travel in the country. The transport snarls stand the risk of lasting longer than this week, but their ripple-effects could go on to impact major elections at the country this year amid overwhelming dissatisfaction with Germany's ruling coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
