“There is no time to lose: Our country has to feel now that things are getting better,” Merz said.

For businesses, though, this appears to be taking too long. Ifo’s survey suggested that not only were companies less happy with their current business, but that expectations had also darkened noticeably.

“The surprisingly sharp decline … dampens hopes for a rapid economic recovery,” Deutsche Bank economist Robin Winkler said in a note to clients.

The news follows on the heels of another survey from Tuesday: S&P Global’s Purchasing Manager Index. This showed Germany’s private sector expanding at the fastest pace in more than a year — but cast doubt over the sustainability of this recovery, as new orders dropped in both services and manufacturing.

A representative survey commissioned by POLITICO’s sister publication, the German tabloid Bild (also owned by Axel Springer), showed Wednesday that not only businesses are increasingly pessimistic about the country’s economic prospects.

Confidence in the Christian Democrats and Socialists’ ability to return the German economy to growth continues to fall. While 43 percent believed this was the case in May, by mid-September that number had fallen to just 28 percent.

Several vessels belonging to the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza were targeted by Israeli drones in international waters south of Crete on Tuesday, organizers said.

“Our boats were repeatedly attacked by military drones. They struck us with unknown but irritating substances, with sound bombs, and even with drones that deliberately damaged the masts of several vessels,” said Maria Elena Delia, the GSF’s Italian spokesperson, in an Instagram post.

“These attacks targeted boats flying Italian, British, and Polish flags. That’s the same as attacking Italy, the U.K., and Poland — essentially a declaration of war against those countries,” added Delia, who was aboard the ship Morgana.

Is Jaguar Land Rover suffering the ‘curse of Starmer’? – POLITICO

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