In the cities the poorest estates can seem almost cosy-suburban to a British visitor Hospital waiting lists are almost
Posted in General on 22. Jul, 2010
In the cities, the poorest estates can seem almost cosy-suburban to a British visitor Hospital waiting lists are almost unknown. In city and countryside alike, Germans enjoy a standard of living that Britons can only dream of. Prosperous little towns with well-maintained historic buildings, and gleaming (if dull) new houses are strung out between self-confident cities. There’s a constant pessimism, like a worn-out record.” Others argue, too, that the periodic crises are themselves helpful, by forcing Germany to adjust, and thus helping the country back on to the economic straight and narrow, just when everything seems lost.Certainly, Germany has a high tightrope to fall from. When in 1993 it carried the picture of the sinking ship Germania printed above, the headline asked: “What can save the economy?” Within a short time, however, Germania was under sail once more. Last week, Der Spiegel was asking: “Eight million unemployed?”It is tempting to accept the logic of Hans-Jurgen Meltzer, head of the Germany section at Deutsche Bank Research: “It’s a German characteristic There is permanent Schopenhauerian unease People complain, even when things are going well. Whenever there has been a slowdown in the past 20 years, Germany’s most influential magazine, Der Spiegel, has carried cover stories suggesting that disaster looms.
And yet…THIS is not the first time that the end has seemed nigh. One notable feature of the German economy is that the bubble never quite seems to burst, however often the pessimists and the statistics suggest that it is about to. Unemployment has reached 3.8 million, almost 10 per cent – well above Britain’s 8 per cent. More than pounds 20bn left Germany last year for investment abroad – “exporting jobs”, in the current catchphrase. For Britain there appears to be some comfort here – the UK is the biggest single recipient of the new investment.
The electronics group Siemens, for example, is building a new pounds 1bn microchip factory on Tyneside, which will create 1,800 jobs.Senior figures in German industry complain that foreign companies hardly ever invest in German industrial jobs any more. True – and an understandable reason for Germans to start panicking, as they have begun to do. More embarrassing still, Germany this month announced a budget deficit of 3.6 per cent, thus breaking the 3 per cent upper limit set at Maastricht for the planned creation of the single European currency How are the mighty fallen. On prices, think of a number and double it (and then some, because the German mark is so strong).
And – weighed down by that double burden – end up as one of the leading exporters world-wide.Germans themselves worry aloud that it cannot continue. The Munich Abendzeitung carried a cartoon this month summing up the perceived state of play A noticeboard proclaimed: “Jobs Vacant: liquidators .. bankruptcy specialists .. poverty advisers, etc…”Such pessimism is understandable. On top of that, there are generous health insurance and pension payments. Bernd Pischetsrieder, chairman of BMW, reckons overall German wage costs to be about twice those in Britain.It is scarcely surprising that high manufacturing costs have become the topic of economic debate in Germany today. In almost every respect the economy seems to defy the laws of gravity On wages, think of a number and double it. In addition, BMW workers get a further, 15th month’s, salary as part of a profit-sharing scheme. And Weihnachtsgeld, or “Christmas money” – the same again, for presents all round Those two bonuses have long been standard across Germany.
That line of theatres and concert halls is a bit sacrosanct.”How does she feel about taking on arguably one of the greatest British architects of the century? “Richard Rogers has some wonderful ideas; he’s a very nice person and very good at getting publicity He’s one of the leading architects at the moment. At night the South Bank would become an amazing London landmark.”The Twentieth Century Society may claim credit for protecting important modern buildings, but their activities carry contradictions, Finch suggests. “If the Society had existed back then, the Festival Hall would never have got built, because it involved demolishing the Old Lion Brewery, a fine old landmark building. The Festival Hall itself has changed drastically since it was built, and the whole site has been in flux since the Festival of Britain in 1951. The idea that now is the moment to freeze it is all wrong.”Mrs Richardson denies that “freezing” is her intention “We know the Hayward must be changed,” she says “It needs more storage space and a cafe We don’t object to alterations. But the interest we take in it is that it is the major arts centre in London.