Scholz: ‘Our world has become a more unsettled and harsher place’ | DW News

In his New Year’s message, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz acknowledged the tough global landscape but expressed confidence that “Germany will get through it.” The German leader highlighted the obstacles the country successfully overcame in 2023, both domestically and internationally. With many key general elections to be held worldwide in 2024, most notably in the United States, United Kingdom, India and the European Parliament, Scholz reiterated the importance of these elections — particularly in the US — with wars still raging in Ukraine and the Middle East. The chancellor emphasized that Germany’s strength resides in the European Union. With inflation having sunk from an average of 7.9% in 2022 to 3.2% in November 2023, the lowest level in two years, Scholz spoke of a much brighter economic outlook than a year ago — even if Germany’s rate of inflation is still some way higher than the Eurozone average of 2.4%. Scholz, who is the leader of Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD), also said the coalition government will prioritize upgrading road and rail infrastructure in what he described as a need to “invest powerfully in the future.”