In order to cope with demographic change, the retirement age should be adjusted to the rising life expectancy, Wieland said. After 2025 the ratio between the number of the working population in comparison with the people retired would be worsening. Furthermore, tax reductions were necessary. Moreover, the advantages of digitalization were not yet broadly accepted. "It is very hard for a start-up to grow into a company such as Google here in Germany", Wieland said.
In Wieland's opinion, the main reason for the economic slowdown of the German economy in the third quarter was the lack of the German carmakers to prepare for the new diesel testing. However, it was also a normalization after a period of over capacity. As a third factor, it had become evident how sensitive Germany was regarding changes in exports.
Concerning the Brexit deal, Wieland emphasized that it was important to come to an agreement at all. "It's important to avoid a hard Brexit". However, "it is very sad to see Britain leave".
Bloomberg: "German economy shrinks for first time since 2015"