The word “market economy” is something like the core brand of the Chancellor’s CDU Friedrich Merz and Economics Minister Katherina Reiche. While the term did not appear once in the SPD’s 66-page program for the last federal election, the larger coalition partner makes a commitment in its program: “We stand by the social market economy, we stand by competition, growth and prosperity.”
But only if no one threatens to get angry, I would like to add.
The current energy crisis provides a good example of this. Since Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the price of oil rose brutally. Especially in car-loving Germany – free travel for free citizens! – this is a topic that quickly becomes fundamental. And few things fear a government as much as the wrath of drivers. But it is precisely in crises that it becomes clear whether a party believes in the principles that it has proclaimed.