Fuest Stands By Public Holiday Abolition Proposal
President advocates for annulling vacation plans
Hey there! Ever heard about the fuss surrounding public holidays in Germany? Here's the lowdown.
Clemens Fuest, President of the Munich-based Ifo Institute, is still pushing for the cancelation of a public holiday. He believes that this move is crucial to speed up endeavors in defense and infrastructure development. On a recentFriday, Fuest pleaded his case, highlighting that without an increase in the labor force, these ambitious projects might face delays, and workers could be siphoned off from other areas, causing shortages.
According to Fuest, boosting labor numbers alone isn't enough to build roads and bridges; the additional workforce is equally vital. He noted that although canceling one public holiday wouldn't entirely solve the issue, it could potentially boost the economy by roughly eight billion euros annually. Yet, Fuest's lacks specificity when it comes to pinpointing the holiday to be axed.
The buzz around this topic has been growing for some weeks now. In March, Fuest expressed his sentiments about canceling a public holiday in an interview with the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" while discussing reforms to the debt brake and the new infrastructure fund. Economist Monika Schnitzer supported Fuest's call in "Der Spiegel" at the time.
The Institute of the German Economy (IW) also weighed in, estimating that an extra workday could swell gross domestic product by between 5 and 8.6 billion euros, depending on the calculation method.
So, while the debate rages on, no official cancellation of public holidays has been announced. Noteworthy holidays such as Good Friday, Easter Monday, and others continue to be observed across Germany as per usual. Keep an eye on this space for more updates as this is certainly one debate that isn't likely to fade away any time soon!
[1] "Public Holidays in Germany for 2025." (n.d.). Timeanddate.com. Retrieved May 25, 2025, from https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/germany/2025
[3] "Public Holidays in Germany." (n.d.). Countrycalendars.org. Retrieved May 25, 2025, from https://www.countrycalendars.org/germany.html
[5] "Germany Public Holidays: Annual List and Dates of Observed Holidays." (2023). NDTV.com. Retrieved May 25, 2025, from https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/germany-public-holidays-annual-list-and-dates-of-observed-holidays-2812569
- Clemens Fuest, the President of the Munich-based Ifo Institute, has advocated for the cancellation of a public holiday to expedite defense and infrastructure development, especially due to labor force concerns and potential project delays.
- Fuest has noted that the cancellation of one public holiday could potentially generate an additional eight billion euros for the economy annually.
- Despite the economical benefits proposed by Fuest, no official cancellation of public holidays has been announced so far.
- The debate on canceling public holidays stems from the proposal made by Fuest and has been ongoing for some weeks, with economists like Monika Schnitzer expressing support for the idea in "Der Spiegel".
