A survey shows that companies in eastern Germany have little confidence that the new black-red federal government will provide effective growth impetus for the economy. This was the result of the so-called Transformation Barometer 2025 on the occasion of the East German Economic Forum in Bad Saarow, Brandenburg. From Sunday to Tuesday, company managers, association representatives and politicians will be discussing ways out of the tense economic situation.
In response to the question "Do you believe that the new federal government will succeed in taking effective measures to stimulate growth in the German economy?", a total of 58.2 percent answered "Rather no" and "No, definitely not". In order to strengthen the business location, the companies surveyed would primarily like to see a reduction in bureaucracy (68%) and a reduction in energy prices (54.4%).
A total of 1,500 private-sector companies in Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia with at least 10 employees were surveyed between March 3 and April 26, 2025. The opinion research company Civey conducted the study on behalf of the location initiative "Germany - Land of Ideas" and Deutsche Kreditbank AG.
Labor shortage and energy prices as challenges
The federal government still has a huge task ahead of it, as its
confidence among companies is apparently low, said the Managing Director of "Germany - Land of Ideas", Philipp Mehne.
For 52 percent of those surveyed in eastern Germany, the biggest challenge in their own company is retaining and finding employees. 34.3 percent of company managers cited energy prices. When asked about the biggest challenges in the eastern German states, 40.3 percent cited "political radicalization as a location risk".
Federal Economics Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) are expected to attend the East German Economic Forum in Bad Saarow, south-east of Berlin, on Monday and Tuesday.
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