MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurer, is abandoning its usual political restraint and calling for far-reaching economic reforms. In his pre-released speech to this year's Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, CEO Joachim Wenning lamented the stagnation of industrial production and the increasing outflow of capital for investments abroad. "Germany needs a comprehensive turnaround program," he said in the speech. "This includes the courage to make unpopular decisions."

The last political reform project in this respect was Agenda 2010 more than 20 years ago. "What is needed is an Agenda 2030, 2035 or 2040 that will give Germany a clean bill of health from which it will emerge stronger." Specifically, the head of the DAX-listed company called above all for an extension of working hours: "The demographic impact over the next 25 years will be enormous. Germany will lose 11 out of 43 million workers in this period." The average annual working time per employee in Germany has fallen from 2,200 to almost 1,300 hours per year over the past 60 years. "Even in France and Italy, people work more than in Germany."

Traditionally, the reinsurer's top management - like many other large companies - is reluctant to make political comments. In recent years, however, dissatisfaction in the economy has increased significantly. This is not just about the policies of the SPD and the Greens. Wenning, for example, argued that the federal government should accept higher levels of new debt, at least temporarily, in order to strengthen investment and competitiveness. In Berlin, the CDU/CSU and FDP in particular are campaigning for compliance with the debt brake./cho/DP/stw