Berlin, 29 March 2022 The new federal government has now been in office for more than 100 days. The Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA) has taken this as an opportunity to ask people in Germany for their opinion on the traffic lights. The representative survey, conducted by the opinion research institute Forsa, is guided by the question: On which issues should the federal government do more? The President of the Employers' Association, Dr. Rainer Dulger, comments on the results and what can be deduced from them for the future:

1. Strong economy - secure Germany: "Russia's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine has changed the world. We must derive a central message from the events and the West's shift in security policy: Only a strong economy guarantees a secure Germany. Only a strong economy will generate the prosperity with which we can confidently face the new geopolitical challenges. Only a strong economy will create good and secure jobs - and invest in sustainable and climate-friendly business models. This is also reflected in the survey: more than 70 percent of Germans want to ease the financial burden on citizens - and more than 60 percent are in favor of easing the burden on the economy. In hardly any other country are employees left with so little of their earned income as in Germany. Supplementary wage costs must not be allowed to rise as planned. And that is just one example. There must be a rethink now. That means: right of way for the social market economy."
2. Making care and pensions fit for the future: "People in Germany are thinking long-term, even in times of war in Ukraine and the Corona pandemic. Almost 90 per cent are urging the new coalition to do more to put the nursing care system on a secure footing for the future. And more than 80 percent are calling for the pension system to be designed in such a way that it works in the long term - without overburdening contributors. German citizens - and indeed all age groups - have recognized this: There is a great need for reform here. And they know: Democracy and prosperity can only exist in the long term if the social security systems are stable. Germany must develop a new resilience in this area. The resolute mandate to the federal government is: take care of long-term care and pensions."
3. Speeding up education and digitization: "Germany is stuck in an innovation backlog - and its citizens are feeling it, too. A good 80 percent of Germans call on politicians to step on the gas in education. 80 percent advocate cutting red tape and creating a citizen-friendly digital administration. We now need a strong push in education, digitization and debureaucratization - we need to become faster, more efficient, better. Only if Germany, Europe and the West are economically successful will we master the challenges of the future."

The short version of the Forsa survey can be found here.