Wide-ranging strikes hitting Germany’s state-owned rail network and flag carrier Lufthansa are having a significant impact on the country’s ailing economy, the head of the highly regarded ifo economic institute said on Thursday. Speaking on national public television broadcaster ZDF, ifo President Clemens Fuest described the strikes as “an additional burden that [Germany] could well do without.” German train drivers launched a 35-hour pay strike on Thursday, and Lufthansa ground staff began a two-day strike at the same time. “The economy is shrinking, and when something like this comes along i…