Over the past years, the fiscal policy of Germany was based on the principle called “black zero” (Schwarze Null), in which the state-planned expenditures were financed exclusively from budget revenues. This model was the pride of the German government. And some citizens felt very comfortable living in a country with such solid financial discipline. This was until the coronavirus pandemic came, which hit society like a tsunami and left no trace of the special love of the Germans for this figure – a kind of fetish. Black Zero has ceased to matter.
Since then, Germany’s national debt has grown like never before. In April this year, the Bundestag approved a supplementary budget for 2021, increasing the amount of new loans to a record high of 240.2 billion euros. Thus, the total debt will increase to 2,200 billion euros. This is unlikely to stop at this point in the foreseeable future. Note the first photo of the so-called “Debt Hours” in Berlin showing the amount of Germany’s public debt at the end of 2017.
The same “black zero”
Unprecedentedly high state loans scare many Germans. And most of all, the residents of the country are afraid that the state will ask the citizens themselves to participate in repaying such a debt. These are the conclusions reached by one of the largest insurance companies in Germany, R + V, having completed its annual research “Die Ängste der Deutschen 2021”. This representative survey has been conducted since 1992. And now, for what year, its results have become a barometer of German fears. This year, experts interviewed 2,400 people over the age of 14. The results were released on Thursday September 9th. So what are Germans afraid of in 2021?
Is fear for financial well-being stronger than fear of getting the corona?
“The mountain of debts that have formed at the federal, state and municipal levels amid the fight against pandemics is the main reason for the concern of the Germans,” says Brigitte Römstedt, head of the information center at R + V. According to the results of the current survey, more than half of the respondents (53 percent) are afraid that due to the high government debt, the government will raise taxes or reduce government support. First place in the rating of fears of the Germans.
It is curious that fear for their health and fears of contracting a severe coronavirus took only 14th place in the overall ranking. More than a third of the respondents admitted this. For the head of the research group, Römstedt, such a result did not come as a surprise: “And last year, only one in three experienced the fear of contracting some infectious disease. But at that time we did not even have a vaccine. I think everyone knows this: everyone tries not to think about diseases. However, if this somehow affects finances, then the fear is great, “- says the German expert in an interview with DW.
Fears that they tried not to talk about on the eve of the elections
Political scientist Manfred G. Schmidt believes that how much will have to pay for the debts formed against the backdrop of the pandemic will become known only after the parliamentary elections, which will be held on September 26. According to him, during the election campaign, they tried not to stir up fears of the financial consequences of the coronavirus crisis. “The parties have so far successfully hushed up this highly explosive topic,” Schmidt said in an interview with DW. A professor at the Ruprecht and Karl University of Heidelberg has been helping R + V evaluate the results for many years.
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The second and third places in the rating of fears are also occupied by financial issues. Every second German is afraid of rising living expenses and fears that German taxpayers will be forced to take part in paying off the debts of the European Union.
The Germans are much less worried about the economy of their country. Fear of economic decline ranks 10th overall. Last year, when the country’s economic life literally came to a standstill due to lockdowns, almost half of those surveyed said they were afraid of an economic crisis. And fear of decline came in 4th in the overall rankings.
Natural disasters and climate change
And if the consequences of the crisis caused by the pandemic, the Germans imagined quite concretely, with regard to climate change over the past years, the following tendency persisted: the more abstract the threats seemed, the less fear was.
Despite the actions of the Fridays for Future movement, warnings of environmentalists about threats, the fears of Germans for the environment remained at the level of last year: 41 percent of respondents are strongly afraid of natural disasters (8th place in the rating of fears; 5th place – in 2020).
However, this summer’s flood, which became the most destructive in the entire history of the Federal Republic of Germany, increased the sensitivity of the Germans to environmental issues. Now they see a direct threat. “By the time the flood hit, the study had already been completed. Therefore, at the end of July, scientists conducted an additional survey of 1000 citizens, asking them about their fears of climate change. And almost 70 percent have already declared their fear of natural disasters.
Flooding in July 2021 was the worst in the history of Germany
The terrible pictures of the tragedy that happened made the Germans fear the further consequences of climate change. Brigitte Römstedt explains the fact that the level of fear has risen so rapidly with the daily flow of information and terrifying footage from the crash sites. They made a strong impression on the citizens. However, as early as next year, the fear of natural disasters may decrease, the expert predicts, if people do not remember the scale of the tragedy and manage to forget the terrible scenes.
Refugee crisis remains relevant
And again, the topic of migration was on the list of fears of the Germans. And although there were no large flows of refugees in 2021, the simplified admitted that they still fear that the state will not cope with the burden caused by their influx. 8th place in the ranking. One line higher is the fear, also associated with the migration policy of Germany: 42 percent of those surveyed said that they fear an increase in tensions due to the influx of foreigners.
What do these results indicate? The German political scientist believes that “the shock caused by the 2015 crisis in the wake of the influx of refugees has settled deep in the minds of many citizens.” This is evidenced by the results of other studies. The topic of refugees remains the third most important after the corona and climate change.
In the 2021 poll, just over 40 percent of respondents admitted that they feared that German politicians were overwhelmed with responsibilities. However, for the year of elections to the Bundestag, this is a fairly moderate figure. Four years ago, when the parliamentary elections were held, more than half expressed doubts that politicians were coping with their tasks.
But what really surprised the group of researchers was the fact that the Germans still attach less importance to digitalization. And this despite the fact that after two years of teaching schoolchildren against the background of the crown, many could see what gaps and deficiencies the German educational system has in terms of modern technologies. However, in the R + V rating, such fears took 12th place.
The 2021 survey was the 30th in a row. However, scientists do not have to talk about the tendencies or fears that have accompanied the Germans all these years. “Over the years that I have been leading the research, I have definitely understood for myself that the concept of German Angst (literally -“ German fear ”) is wrong. Germans definitely cannot be called cowards,” Brigitte Römstedt summed up. German fears have a special real basis, that is, they are not groundless. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, fears of a terrorist threat increased. In the wake of mass layoffs, the Germans begin to worry about their jobs … However, as soon as the situation calms down, fear also recedes, the expert emphasizes.
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