The war in Ukraine has affected the German economy like other major economies of the world but the situation is expected to worsen in the coming months as the energy sector is facing a crunch, said a leading German historian of modern industry and economy. In an exclusive interview with The Hindu, Berlin-based Dr. Stefan Tetzlaff, who has been advising opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) MP Henning Rehbaum said that the energy crisis is an opportunity for innovation for new technology but reminded on a pragmatic note, that the CDU supports "continued use of energy from Russia as long as there are no workable alternatives".
"The war in Ukraine, inflation and global trade issues like supply chain problems have impacted countries across the world in different ways. The German economy so far is better off than many other economies, but the worst is yet to come. Gas shortages in the winter months are projected to hurt industries and private consumers in Germany," said Mr. Tetzlaff.
The war in Ukraine confronted Germany with a problem as it had to take a call on the consensus politics over energy relations with Russia that had progressively become a part of both the SPD Chancellor Gerhard Schroder and CDU Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governments. This continuity was expected to be upheld even as Germany voted for a new coalition government under Social Democratic Party (SPD)'s Chancellor Olaf Scholz following the exit of Ms. Merkel who had a stint from 2005-2021.
