Friedrich Merz sparked discussions with his statement about recognition for achievements in Germany. Now Carsten Maschmeyer is joining him.
Is performance not sufficiently recognized in Germany, as CDU leader Friedrich Merz told “Bild am Sonntag” at the weekend? In any case, star investor Carsten Maschmeyer agrees with Merz in an interview with t-online.
Maschmeyer pins this on Merz himself, of all people. “He has been under attack for years because he made a lot of money at work and has his own private plane.” In the USA, where Maschmeyer is currently on a business trip, things are completely different. “When someone is successful, people think it’s great and ask themselves, ‘How can I be as successful as him?’ They are motivated by these examples.” In Germany, on the other hand, founders in particular are often accused of thinking they are better. The Germans have lost the idea of performance, says Maschmeyer.
The economy also suffers from this. “I am very worried about Germany as a location,” explains Maschmeyer. “If you looked at the world from above, no one would come up with the idea of investing primarily in Germany. If we were in the Bundesliga, we would be like Holstein Kiel: We are in a relegation zone.”
In an interview with t-online, Maschmeyer calls the situation a “catastrophe”: “I blame Ms. Merkel’s steady hand for this – for years she only did the diamond and did nothing dynamic for the economy.” He also calls the traffic light government “dysfunctional because each of the parties involved is primarily concerned with their own party program.”
In the “Bild am Sonntag” interview, Merz had previously called for “more respect for financial success”. “I would like to change our mentality a bit,” said Merz. “Economic success is part of it, and you can show it – you don’t have to show it off.”
In this way you can also “encourage and encourage others and say: do it again”. Merz was concerned about some people’s attitudes towards work. If this is only seen as an “unpleasant interruption to our free time”, it will lead to “a massive loss of prosperity”.
