The past two years were defined by economic fatigue. Output contracted in both 2023 and 2024, industrial capacity utilisation sank, and Germany’s export-led economy came under sustained pressure from high energy costs, weak global demand and intensifying competition from China. In 2025, growth barely lifted its head above zero, leaving the economy stuck in what could be described as “structural stagnation.”
Yet beneath the surface, the foundations for a cyclical recovery are being laid. A dramatic fiscal pivot, easing monetary…