Bilger emphasized the need to lower state social benefits to decrease ancillary wage costs and proposed increasing the commuter allowance to offset rising fuel prices. This call for reform comes as leading economic institutes have drastically revised their growth forecast for the year from 1.3% to 0.6%, attributing the decline to surging energy prices linked to the Iran conflict. Ifo Institute’s economic chief, Wollmershäuser, noted that while the energy price shock severely impacts the economy, the government’s expansive fiscal policy is providing some support. Federal Minister of Economics Reiche acknowledged that the Middle Eastern conflict intensifies the pressure on German policymakers to implement structural reforms.