We would be ill-advised to deduce from the recent experience a need to actively prop up domestic demand, be it via encouraging higher negotiated wages or via fiscal policy measures. First of all, export strength and current account deficits have been unjustifiably linked. High or growing export shares are not necessarily associated with current account surpluses.
In the case of Germany, there are different drivers for both developments. The export strength was mainly a result of the high quality of the products and the strong world trade growth during the last upswing. The current account surpluses stemmed from relatively weak domestic demand, but this weakness was not due to macroeconomic demand management or general unwillingness of Germans to spend.