Holiday in danger? Business calls for abolition – The heated debate!

Holiday in danger? Business calls for abolition – The heated debate!

The discussion about the willingness to work in Germany is taking on new dimensions. On June 29, 2025, Friedrich Merz stated in the media that in his opinion Germans are not working enough, which could harm the economy. But this statement is met with contradiction. Various solutions are being debated within the CDU, ranging from more flexible maximum working hours to the abolition of a public holiday. Even if Merz does not publicly advocate for the cancellation of a public holiday, he could be behind this idea, report Perspective Daily.

A hotly debated topic in this context are the Christian holidays, especially Whit Monday. The economic expert Grimm emphasized that the volume of work will decrease in the coming years as the baby boomers retire. The idea of ​​abolishing a holiday to improve the economic situation is supported by several experts. In addition, possible adjustments to citizen's allowance are pointed out in order to create additional work incentives. According to Deutschlandfunk, the Hüther from the German Economic Institute even suggested that the cancellation of a public holiday could increase the gross domestic product (GDP) by up to 8.6 billion euros.

Economic impact of cancellation

Calculations from the German Economic Institute (IW) suggest that eliminating a public holiday could not only create an additional working day, but would also bring in up to 0.2 percent of GDP. These numbers have a significant influence on the debate: An additional working day could generate economic output of five billion euros, reports Tagesschau. In two scenarios that look at increasing production and avoiding costs, experts estimate similar additional economic output of up to 8.6 billion euros.

However, canceling a public holiday is not an easy undertaking. The different holiday regulations in the federal states ultimately make uniform implementation complicated. While some advocate the idea, others, such as the German Federation of Trade Unions (DGB), see the holidays as essential for workers' recovery and productivity. A balancing act between economic benefits and social concerns is therefore on the agenda.

Political reactions and outlooks

The political reactions to this proposal are varied. The SPD emphasizes that public holidays are important for the recovery and performance of employees, while the Left sees the proposal as outdated and not very solution-oriented. The AfD supports the deletion at the federal level, but elsewhere calls for diets to be cut instead of abolishing public holidays. It remains exciting to see what measures will actually be taken and how the various positions of political actors will affect decision-makers.

The discussion shows that there is much more behind a seemingly simple proposal such as abolishing a public holiday. It is not just an economic issue, but also touches on social and cultural aspects of life in Germany.