English should become a second official language at administrative offices in Germany, one of the country’s governing parties has argued, saying unwieldy bureaucratic German is proving too much of a deterrent for much-needed skilled workers from abroad.
The three-party government of the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, in which the pro-business Free Democratic party (FDP) is a junior coalition partner, last autumn unveiled its own version of a “green card” – called Chancenkarte or “opportunity card” – designed to address a critical shortage of skilled labour.