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12 The German Times • German Unification 1990 – 2020 October 2020 Now it’s our turn, right? Thirty years after reunification, some Germans feel that the country is as divided as ever. In truth, the East is just finally asserting itself To this day, there are significant But no matter how much the West their colleagues from the CDU and SPD: BY MARTIN MACHOWECZ income gaps between East and West invested, they have argued, eastern If you don’t change anything, the AfD in (see chart on page 10). In recent months, Germans remain unsatisfied, ungrate- our states will become even stronger! ver the past several years, one particularly unsavory example was ful and have even begun voting en This explains why Germany’s exit there’s one question that revealed, when employees at Bautzner, masse for populist parties! from the production of brown coal is Ohas dumbfounded western a long-standing mustard manufacturer Of course, the whole situation looks now proceeding entirely in line with Germans as they gaze eastward: How in the East, went on strike. Just like the much different from an eastern per- conditions set by the East. As all open- is it possible that the whole “growing famous Löwensenf, which is made in spective. The fact is that four million pit mines and power plants are shut together” thing hasn’t worked out, even Düsseldorf, Bautzner belongs to the young and well-educated eastern Ger- down in the coming decades, roughly more than 30 years after the fall of the Develey Group. But employees living mans moved to the West after 1990. €17 billion will flow into the Lausitz Berlin Wall? Or, rather: Why are Germa- in Bautzen doing the same job – that The sweat and toil of these young region alone as compensation. Why? ny’s eastern states – the ones that once is, making mustard for Develey – were people contributed to western Germa- Because the economy there is entirely formed the GDR – still so different? being paid annually between €8,000 ny’s increasing prosperity in the post- dependent on coal – and because it is In 2020, the fact that much continues and €12,000 less than employees with reunification period. Ulrich Blum, the also one of the regions with the highest to distinguish East from West is hard to the same mother company living in former president of the Halle Institute share of AfD voters. deny. A glance at election results shows Düsseldorf. This phenomenon can be for Economic Research, once did the In the past 30 years, eastern Germans that the increasingly radical right-wing seen in almost all industries and at most calculation and concluded that eastern have done everything they could to extremist AfD party receives three large companies. Germans largely paid for unification attract attention to their concerns – and times as many votes in the East as in now, the AfD has delivered precisely the West. The leftist Linke party is also this attention. If the other political par- much stronger in the East than in the ties seek to take the wind out of the West. Yet people’s attitudes in the East AfD sails, the only way to succeed is to toward politicians, parties, institutions The Federal Republic shine the spotlight more prominently and capitalism are different and, gener- on the East, to give eastern Germans a ally, far more critical. Should we just will have to become stronger sense of being heard and even accept that the East will never become more eastern in to give them power. But anyone hoping more like the West? to empower the East must be ready and No. This is precisely the wrong the coming years willing to actually share power. approach to the issue. For several years To this day, Germany’s Federal Court now, many eastern Germans have been of Justice, which is based in Karlsruhe, asking themselves why on earth they has resisted relocating a large number should become more like the West. There is hardly any private wealth themselves, precisely by enabling this of its judges to Leipzig, as was origi- They have grown more accepting of in the East today, and not one DAX immense gain in highly productive nally intended in the Unification Treaty. their history and have even developed company is based in the former GDR. workers for the West and by completely Moreover, Germany’s public broadcast- an air of serenity with regard to it, their Most of the apartments in major east- opening up eastern Germany as a new ers have refused to relocate key posi- nature and their origins. Their new- ern German cities belong to investors market for West German companies. tions – such as editors-in-chief – to the found approach effectively says: “We from western Germany and the rest At the same time, eastern Germans eastern states. might indeed be the smaller and less of the world; eastern Germans who began noticing a trend: despite our Yet, in spite of all that has happened developed part of this country, but we’re own valuable real estate are an excep- skills and strengths, our new bosses in recent years, there are still a number most certainly not the worst part of it.” tion. According to a 2019 study by are reticent to share power with us, of good – actually, very good – develop- If we look a little bit closer, we see that the German Institute for Economic we don’t have any access to wealth or ments to speak of. Eastern Germans it’s this growing self-confidence on the Research, on average, eastern Germans property, and our political influence no longer simply accept their situation part of eastern Germans that may actu- don’t even possess half as much wealth is limited, even if Angela Merkel – one as fate as they hide out from the devel- ally lead to a more placid coexistence as western Germans. of us – became chancellor and is now a opments around them. And, eschew- of the two Germanies. With a little Fundamental differences also per- major figure in global politics. ing the Western slur for Easterners’ bit of luck, Germany’s future strength sist with regard to the distribution of Taking all of these factors into “non-stop moaning” or jammern, they might just lie precisely in the differences power. Germany has 106 universities account allows us to interpret support no longer moan and complain. They’re between the country’s two sides. After and, at last count, only two university for the AfD as aggressive resistance getting more involved, mixing things all, doesn’t meeting eye-to-eye involve presidents are from the East. There are to the political framework. While it’s up a bit, questioning a number of fun- a healthy dose of confidence on both practically no eastern German court far from true that all AfD voters in the damental “truths.” There is no doubt sides? presidents – not even in the East itself East are racists, right-wing extremists that the Federal Republic will have to When musing on the fact that eastern – and a negligible number of eastern and unemployed persons, a party that become more eastern in the coming Germans are different from western German chief physicians. Apart from is able to attract almost one-third of years. And if western Germans are Germans, we must first and foremost Chancellor Angela Merkel herself, there the electorate is obviously resonating smart enough to recognize the oppor- consider that life in the East is quite is only one other eastern German in among a broad swathe of the popula- tunities that arise when two sides meet different from life in the West – in both the federal cabinet. The heads of most tion. Over the past several years, the on truly equal footing, there’s no doubt good and bad ways. major federal departments are western AfD has managed to give eastern Ger- that the 40th anniversary of German Let’s start with the good. At the Germans, and Germany’s army, the mans one feeling in particular: If you reunification will provide great cause moment, eastern German cities gen- Bundeswehr, is headed up almost exclu- vote for us, you’ll finally get the atten- for celebration. erally look better than their western sively by western Germans. These facts tion you deserve! German counterparts, having blos- bring us closer to the core of the East- And, unfortunately, all other political somed over the 30 years since the fall of West conflict, which remains fueled by parties must now admit that the AfD Martin Machowecz the Wall. Rents are lower and there are a fundamental misunderstanding. has kept this promise. Eastern Germany was born in Meißen in 1988 and free and open spaces everywhere. Many Over the past few years, many west- has never held as many cards in its hand grew up in eastern Germany. eastern Germans would argue that east- ern Germans have continued to argue as since the rise of the AfD and the He studied political science ern Germany is the more vibrant and that they invested endless amounts values it embodies. Minister presidents in Leipzig and now heads the Leipzig office of the weekly attractive part of the country today. of money in the East, opening up from Mecklenburg-Western Pomera- German newspaper Die Zeit, But – and this is where things get branches and production facilities in nia to Saxony suddenly possess a form as well as the editorial team of difficult – it’s also the poorer part of the East and pumping billions into of political capital they can leverage.

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