Call for public investment

IG Metall, Germany's largest union with 2.15 million members, working primarily in metalworking and textiles, has called for large-scale public investment to rebuild the country's industry on a more environmentally sustainable basis.

Its new general secretary, Christiane Benner, estimates that €500 to €600 billion (£430 to £520 billion) will be needed for this transformation.

These investments would, she says, be "in the national interest" because the situation in manufacturing is the most critical it has been since the creation of West Germany. And "strong manufacturing, with good and secure jobs, means welfare and a stable democracy."