German Mittelstand reports record dissatisfaction and low investment

German small and medium-sized enterprises (Mittelstand) are expressing significant dissatisfaction with the current federal government and economic outlook. According to the BVMW annual survey, 44.84% of surveyed entrepreneurs rated the government's performance as ‘insufficient’, marking the worst result recorded in the association's annual surveys.

Economic sentiment remains heavily pessimistic, with 67.40% of respondents anticipating an economic downturn in the next twelve months. Political dissatisfaction is also evident, with only 3.23% of respondents indicating they would vote for the SPD in a hypothetical federal election.

Complementing this, data from Creditreform indicates that investment intentions within the Mittelstand have dropped to a 20-year low. Only 37.3% of surveyed companies plan to make investments, down from 43.5% the previous year. The business climate shows only marginal improvement, while many companies report declining orders and workforce reductions. Additionally, capital remains tight, with 33% of companies reporting an equity ratio of less than 10%.