Replies

First of all, thanks for the warm welcome!

"However now days, socialism and welfare are causing terrible damage to the German economy, umepmloyement rate is highest since WW II ! It is true that Germany still the third largest economy in the world after the USA and Japan, but its economy is suffering greatly. I think the EU has greatly adopted a lot of the French heavy socialist and welfare economic model (disaster/failure) and unfortunately Germany with a willing weak socialist Chancellor Shroeder did not stop but welcomed it and caused terrible damage to the Germany economy."

Well, I'm afraid, Germany has brought most of it's current misery upon itself. Although the EU plays an important role here, it's not as important as many people "across the pond" may think. Of course, the EU is responsible for things like anti-trust legislation and that kind of stuff, and that's why it gets so much media exposure in the US (remember Microsoft, tariffs on steel and Airbus/Boeing?). But the welfare system is still firmly within every nation's own responsibility. That's why Germany managed to decline, while EU neighbours like Denmark thrive.

The main reasons:

1.) In the second half of the 16 years of the Kohl administration, the SPD gained many seats in the Bundesrat (federal coucil ~ senate) while Kohl himself became increasingly socialist, so Germany was unable to reform itself in the 1990s after reunification when the need for market-oriented reforms was most pressing.

2.) Plus 7 years of Schroeders red-green administration completely demolished Germany's competitiveness.

"Wolf, I may have been the American kid you saw living on the other side of the fence of the US military installation near your house in Germany. I still have very fond memories of living in Germany and she will always have a special place in my heart.

I'm in Germany 3-4 times a year on business/pleasure and I cringe when I see the media there (my spoken German is rusty, but I can still read/understand everything)since it almost universally anti-US. I wish guys like you and the folks over at Davids Medienkritik/Medienkritik Online had more exposure. I truly think you guys are the silent majority in Germany."

Ah, yes, Davids Medienkritik is always an intersting read ;-). I think, the problem with the German public is that because they don't understand the U.S., they automatically tend to resent it, which is just plain stupid. Of course calls for "Boycotting Germany" within the U.S. weren't smarter (especially, when indeed German and American troops still fight side by side in Afghanistan). I firmly believe that getting to know each other better is the best and only way to avoid such unpleasant episodes in the future.

But what really tipped me off was the way SPD and Green politicians used vile stereotypes (like Herta Daeubler-Gmehlin, who compared George W. Bush to "Adolf Nazi" or Gerd Muentefering, who likened American investors to locusts) to cover up their political failures.
But fortunately the times, they are a-changing, and even the traditionally more leftist media (like the Spiegel Magazine) have turned against the red-green coalition. It was a delight to read Michael Wolfssohn's (of the Bundeswahr University) refutation of Mr. Müntefering's claims at "Spiegel Online".

"Do you think that Frau Merkel is going to pull it off this September?

(BTW, her last name is a big part of my maternal family tree...hmmmm, I wonder if I can claim her as a distant cousin..)"

I'm quite sure, that Angela "Angie" Merkel will become Germany's next chancellor (But the fight isn't won yet!). I HOPE she will be able to unite her party behind a more market-oriented reform agenda, but that remains to be seen. Edmund Stoiber of Bavaria, for example, is still somewhat reluctant when it comes to a total reform of the German welfare system.