As it grapples with the burden of global economic shifts and a critical lack of investment, Germany is running behind its eurozone peers on a number of fronts. This week's slower-than-expected inflation reading only added to a long list of troubles, and the optimism we saw at the start of the year now seems to be giving way to more of a sense of reality.

Video Length: 00:01:28

Why Germany is emerging as the ‘sick man of Europe’

Few signs of improvement in the global economy have emerged over the summer. We're still seeing continued weakness in China's economy as the US enters a slowdown, and things aren't looking any better for Germany.

As its economy struggles under the weight of structural challenges exposed by both surging energy prices and the ongoing war in Ukraine, we're now seeing a heated resurgence of the 'sick man of Europe' debate. So, what's the remedy? How can the German economy successfully shake off a label that harks back to the economic parallels of 20 years ago? ING's Carsten Brzeski looks to public investment and reforms as the antidote – but without a simple cure in sight, it's likely to be a long road to recovery.

And you can read more of our team's thoughts on the state of the global economy in our latest ING Monthly here.

More By This Author: