"Germans have too many sick days. "German Chancellor Merz has complained about the high rate of sick leave in Germany and said that habits such as working four days a week or taking long sick leave are damaging Germany's competitiveness. Therefore, a package of reform measures has been introduced recently, but the legislative process has not yet been completed. The resulting discussion on" super-long "sick leave in Germany continues. Experts interviewed said that the issue of sick leave was used as an alternative discussion of German economic problems, reflecting the anxiety of German society, especially the political elite, about the problems facing the German economy.

The picture shows the German city of Berlin.

After graduating from studying in Berlin, Germany 16 years ago, he has been staying in the local development and currently works in a company. In an exclusive interview with a reporter from the Hong Kong China News Agency, she said: "As long as you are really ill, the doctor will give you a leave note. According to the time recommended by the doctor, the Germans can enjoy up to six weeks of paid sick leave. If you want to continue to take sick leave after six weeks, the salary will be paid by the insurance company, up to 18 months, which is 70% of the original salary."

Why does Germany have such a long paid sick leave? Hu Chunchun, Executive Director of the Institute of European Studies at Shanghai International Studies University, has studied and worked in Germany for 11 years and was the Chinese Dean of the Hanover Confucius Institute in Lower Saxony, Germany. In an exclusive interview with the Hong Kong China News Agency, he said: Germany's current labor security system is the world's first state-led social insurance system. After World War II, Europe's social and economic development has been relatively good, and its "welfare state" The model is actually a model for the development of many countries in the world, and Europeans and Germans themselves are quite proud.

"However, Germany's current economy is facing certain structural problems. At present, the issue of sick leave is actually being discussed as an alternative to German economic problems."

Hu Chunchun analyzed and pointed out: Since 2000, the German economy, like China, has entered a period of high-speed development at the same time. However, the supporting structure of the German economy has now all collapsed: "Defense spending has been'outsourced' to the United States; as an industrial manufacturing power, Energy is a very important production factor. In the past, it obtained low-cost energy through long-term friendly relations with Russia, the relative cost of German technology and products is relatively low, but the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has wiped out this major benefit; the third major factor is Germany's traditional automobile manufacturing industry, the trade war in the United States and the rise of China's automobile manufacturing capacity. let the German automobile manufacturing industry gradually decline."

"In addition, the current hot AI is also competing between the United States and China, and Europe has nothing to come up with. So it is the economic model on which Germany's success has been based over the past few decades that has gone wrong, not a simple 'sick leave."

He stressed: "Should we enjoy labor insurance at a low level, or should we allow society to develop faster so that everyone can benefit more from development? This is not a question that can be simply concluded. Different social systems can be inspired by 'mutual taking."

"The three major foundations that support Germany's economic structure, whether it is Russia's problems, the loss of the Chinese market, and the actions of the United States, cannot be decided by the Germans, so it is difficult to change it macroscopically. However, from the perspective of technical regulation of taxation and improving efficiency, some technical adjustments can still be made. "Hu Chunchun said.