At the heart of Germany’s biggest carmaker, Volkswagen, politicians have long been able to prevent the worst. Apparently, they can no longer, comments Politico, speaking of a “bloodbath” of the German industry.

As Volkswagen threatens to close German factories for the first time in its 87-year history, politicians who have for decades protected workers from mass layoffs are scrambling to find answers amid growing labor frustration and the threat of mass strikes.

“As time goes on, we also realize that a lot of people are really angry that this is happening,” said Thorsten Groeger, chief negotiator for IG Metall, Germany’s largest labor union.

Groger said “warning strikes” would be held before Dec. 9 ahead of the next round of cost-cutting negotiations with management, and threatened much more sweeping action if talks do not go well. “There is the possibility of larger-scale action in the industry,” he explained. “We’re prepared for it.”

The challenges come at a time when the German government is unable to act after the collapse of the three-party coalition earlier this month. It could be several months before Germany has a new government, as negotiations between the parties could last long after the February 23 election. Even then, the country’s constitutional “debt brake,” which limits spending, is likely to limit the new coalition’s “firepower.”

“In Germany, the combination of bad economic news and political paralysis is fueling anger

In Germany there are few more powerful symbols of the country’s growing economic woes than the decline of VW. Amid plummeting profits, flat sales in Europe and a collapse in the key Chinese market, the automaker announced late last month that it plans to close factories on German soil.

Early investments in electric car technology have been plagued by delays and high costs, leaving VW behind US rival Tesla and China’s BYD. If US President-elect Donald Trump now carries out his threat to impose tariffs on European imports, it will further worsen the already difficult situation for German factory workers.

VW’s problems are a parable for German industry more broadly, with manufacturers across the country hemorrhaging jobs. The steady pace of bad economic news got louder this week as steelmaker Thyssenkrupp announced it could shed up to 11,000 jobs by 2030.

But the problems in the automotive sector will hit Germany particularly hard. The industry is responsible for 11 percent of manufacturing jobs in Germany, with the crisis spilling over to the auto giants’ suppliers. Bosch has announced it is cutting 3,500 jobs. ZF Friedrichshafen is considering laying off at least 12,000 employees by 2030. Continental wants to cut 5,500 jobs worldwide.

Germany’s “sickness” is roiling Europe at a time when France, the EU’s second-largest economy, faces its own escalating turmoil. There, far-right leader Marine Le Pen is threatening to topple the country’s fragile coalition government by voting against Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s budget – a move that will send fear into financial markets.

In Germany, the combination of bad economic news and political paralysis is fueling anger ahead of a planned snap election on February 23. This anger is particularly likely to affect Chancellor Olaf Solz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), which is already facing dismal poll numbers.

Lower Saxony, where VW is based, remains an SPD stronghold and the party is inextricably linked to the car industry. The state owns a 20 percent stake in VW, and the state premier, SPD politician Stefan Weil, sits on the board.

“With the support of the state, VW has become a large and globally successful company over the past 75 years,” Weil said in an interview with the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. It would be unwise, he added, to “dismantle the expensive structures” built to produce electric cars.

“The challenges are deeper and greater than we may have recognized

His proposed solutions are well known: He wants to restore federal subsidies for electric car purchases or create tax incentives for consumers. The SPD — along with the Greens — wants to revitalize energy-intensive German industry more broadly by lowering energy prices through subsidies.

The question is whether such moves—even if politicians could agree to them—would be enough, given the massive structural problems facing Germany.

As Russia’s war in Ukraine and rising protectionism fundamentally alter the global trade that has served as the basis for Germany’s export model, German policymakers are facing an unpleasant truth: The tactical tools at their disposal may not be enough.

“The challenges are deeper and bigger than we have perhaps recognized in the debates and policy decisions of recent years,” Greens Economy Minister Robert Hambeck admitted at an industry summit on Tuesday.

Ahead of an election in which the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is in second place, the mainstream parties will likely have to reckon with an intensifying voter backlash.

“The question of how to solve the situation at Volkswagen is an example of how we solve the future problems of the industry as a whole,” stressed chief negotiator Groger. The urgency of the situation, he added, requires “concrete political action” and not “pretty campaign posters.”