German gross domestic product data for the first quarter showed "surprisingly negative signals," Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Thursday.

Europe's biggest economy contracted in the first quarter of 2023 compared with the previous three months, thereby entering recession, data from the statistics office showed earlier. "Weak economic dynamics are a task for politicians," he said at an event of the German Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. (Reporting by Maria Martinez Editing by Madeline Chambers)