“We need a major effort in this country to get things moving again,” Friedrich Merz, the chancellor candidate for the conservative Christian Democratic Union said over the weekend, as his party announced “Agenda 2030,” which pledges to return German growth to 2 percent over the next five years through changes to the welfare and tax systems.

Gross domestic product in the eurozone’s largest economy declined 0.2 percent last year, according to preliminary figures from federal statistics agency Destatis, coming after a 0.3 percent contraction in 2023.

The German economy shrank for the second consecutive year in 2024, according to preliminary official figures. The stats come just weeks before an election largely focused on the economy. The Federal Statistical Office said that gross domestic product contracted by 0.2% in Europe’s largest economy last year following a decline in 2023.