From 2018 to 2025 the German economy grew by 2.0 per cent in real terms, the world economy by 22.8 per cent. Industrial production is 15 per cent below the 2018 level – in Austria, in the EU and in Switzerland it is above it. Two charts, calculated from the primary data.
Basis: our own analysis of the databases of the IMF and Eurostat, prompted by the lecture given by Hans-Werner Sinn on 21 October 2026 at the IWP in Lucerne ·
The EU packaging regulation has applied since 12 August. The small business wing of the CDU and CSU is calling for it to be suspended. In Brussels there is only a proposal to suspend a single obligation. On 20 October the European Parliament voted to limit it to small businesses. That is not yet settled: negotiations with the Council follow.
Basis: resolution of the federal board of the Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsunion of 30 September 2026, Regulation (EU) 2025/40, documents from the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council and the federal government, the 2026 annual report of the national regulatory control council, a special report by the European Court of Auditors, the Draghi report. ·
From 2028 the sugar tax and the plastic tax together are expected to bring in around 2.4 billion euros a year. From 2026 to 2027 alone, the federal government’s interest spending rises by 11.6 billion. This comparison is driving the Union’s business wing – and exposes a conflict within the parliamentary group.
Basis: 2027 draft budget and financial plan, analysis by the Federal Court of Audit of 3 September 2026, decisions of the Bundestag and a report in WELT of 15 October 2026 on a meeting of the Parlamentskreis Mittelstand ·
Nine agriculture ministers from the Union write to Chancellor Merz: the sugar tax does not fit the coalition’s line. We document the letter in full and check what in its statements holds up.
Basis: letter from the ministers of 11 October 2026, available to the editorial team ·
Manufacturers have cut the sugar per litre without a tax. Pure juices contain about as much sugar as cola and are to remain untaxed. And the drinks sector has nevertheless bought slightly more sugar of late.
Basis: research by the editorial team in official statistics ·
In 2019 Lars Klingbeil said in an ARD documentary that he had been “in der Antifa mit aktiv” – actively involved in the Antifa. A chronology of his statements with sources and context, and a look at what of it is documented.
Basis: research by the editorial team in the original sources ·
Anyone wanting to talk about potential savings first needs the orders of magnitude. An overview of the state’s large spending blocks, every figure with its year, its basis and its source.
Basis: research by the editorial team in official statistics and budget documents ·
Anyone talking about the cost of Bürgergeld first has to clarify what is being counted. The calculation presented here makes the items visible – and shows why not every figure can be added up into a single total.