Scholz calls on Germans to 'stick together' to face economic problems

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on people to face the economic problems facing Germany together, particularly inflation, as he announced a meeting of experts to tackle the issue.

"We have to link arms and stick together," Scholz said in a video podcast. He said that the great problem that was currently troubling many citizens, and rightly so, was rising prices. "And we have to act together on that, too," Scholz warned.

For this reason, he said, he had invited trade unions, employers, the Bundesbank and academics - echoing efforts in the 1960s and 1970s - to talk about what has to be done. The campaign, dubbed Concerted Action, kicks off on Monday at the chancellor's office.

Other possible instruments include a proposal by Labour Minister Hubertus Heil, who wants a payment once a year for single people earning less than €4,000 ($4,170) gross per month and for married people earning less than €8,000 together.

The president of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Marcel Fratzscher, told dpa: "Only higher wages and social benefits can sustainably compensate for the damage to people with medium and low incomes." One-off payments, on the other hand, are not targeted, he said, as many do not benefit from them at all.