Germany in decline: Foreign media see the disintegration of infrastructure and industry
In July 2026, foreign media are increasingly reporting on Germany in decline. British and Spanish newspapers as well as international business media combine railway chaos, dilapidated bridges, Stuttgart 21 and the crisis at Volkswagen into a comprehensive picture. They describe an economy whose infrastructure is decaying, whose industry is losing its competitiveness and whose government is not initiating any reforms that really help. The criticism no longer concerns individual mishaps, but Germany's economic and state ability to act.
Germany in decline becomes the judgment of foreign media
The British magazine "The Spectator" published the article "Germany is quietly disintegrating" on July 6. The author refers to unpunctual trains, closed bridges and the threat of job cuts at Volkswagen. He describes the reaction of the federal government as a "shrug of the shoulders that is sold as a reform". Germany once embodied technical reliability and industrial strength. In the meantime, the question arises as to why Europe's largest economy is no longer able to repair its own bridges in time.
My impression from the outside is that Germany cannot elect political parties with enough nous and determination to do anything about decline. Surely the crisis at Volkswagen must have some political impact.
The political situation seems to similar to that in the UK, voting for worthwhile reform isn't happening. We've just been landed with a dud from Manchester as Prime Minister who even at this early stage seems to think going back to the 1970s is a good idea.
4 comments:
Weren't we much better off in the 1970s?
Germany is stuck with the same seemingly immutable political ideology as the UK. The Davos/Globalism high tax/high immigration/high energy cost/ high government spending/high regulation economic and social model. Just as we have Reform attempting to break the mould here, they have AfD there. The AfD are probably slightly further ahead than Reform, having been going for longer, and frankly the economic & social collapse looks worse in Germany because they were starting from a position of relative stability and strength. We're used to the Uk being a sh*thole where nothing works, its been like that for decades here. But its coming as a bit of a surprise to the Germans that their erstwhile well functioning economy and State have just suddenly collapsed, so support for Afd is higher. Under the UK's FPTP system the AfD would have been the largest party if not a majority for some time now.
What we need is plenty of Kirkcaldyism with a dash of Ecclefechanism.
Rolf - in some ways we were, but to my mind that was partly down to having a limited understanding of the decline already established, it wasn't just strikes and union power.
Sobers - "The Davos/Globalism high tax/high immigration/high energy cost/ high government spending/high regulation economic and social model."
Yes, that's the model and it is being promoted ruthlessly. Collectively German voters could hand power to AfD even without FPTP, but they don't. Ruling elites are destructive, but so are huge numbers of voters.
dearieme - Ecclefechanism is the one to go for, especially over coffee.
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