Managing Director of Werner Schmid appears as a Guest on the ZDF Program “Klartext”

For several years now, Werner Schmid’s management team has been supporting the political work of metalworking industry associations to draw attention to the situation and needs of small and medium-sized industrial businesses.

On February 13, 2025, our CEO, Matthias Hauß, had the opportunity to appear on the ZDF election campaign program “Klartext” and ask a question about SME policy to the then-Minister of Economic Affairs and Green Party candidate Robert Habeck. The aim was to focus on the current challenges facing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are often referred to as the “backbone of the German economy” but are frequently not given sufficient consideration in policy-making. The last targeted SME strategy was introduced in 2019 under then-Economy Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU). After outlining the specific, pressing problems facing small and medium-sized enterprises, Matthias Hauß therefore asked what strategies Robert Habeck intended to use to preserve jobs in this sector.

The then-Minister of Economic Affairs acknowledged that German industry was facing a difficult situation, which he described as a “perfect storm” of high energy prices, collapsing markets in the increasingly isolationist United States, and China’s transformation from a market to a competitor. Unfortunately, Robert Habeck’s response did not address how to restore Germany’s diminished competitiveness.

There is no doubt that urgent action is needed here, as Germany has slipped from 6th place to 24th place in the World Competitiveness Ranking over the past two years.

Participating in the program succeeded in bringing the topic of SME policy into the media spotlight at short notice. On February 14, various online portals reported on the program. Among others, Zeit Online, Focus Online, and Bild.de covered the topic and quoted excerpts from Matthias Hauß’s question as well as Robert Habeck’s response.