Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) is calling for a fundamental change in economic policy to stimulate growth in Germany.

The key is "deregulation, the pushing back of the state, especially from economic life," Kretschmer told "Welt am Sonntag." Europe, especially Germany, must be "a space of freedom and not of regulation," the Minister President said. Kretschmer also proposes reducing the legal options for part-time work: "I consider it necessary to reduce the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act to an absolute minimum." Furthermore, the Minister-President wants to tighten the requirements for sick leave.

"Germany is among the top countries in Europe when it comes to sick leave. Those who are truly ill must be able to recover and continue receiving their wages. But what about one-day illnesses? With a waiting day on the first day of sick leave, there would be no continued payment of wages," Kretschmer said.