Why Germany's economic fortunes changed | DW News

[@BudFox575]

Turning off 25 nuclear power stations was absolute madness and stupidity.

[@MrDisasterboy]

If her government hadn't reversed the earlier nuclear phaseout plan, the renewables infrastructure to replace it would have been built sooner. The problem wasn't phasing out nuclear. It was phasing it out in a panic after Fukushima made the mistake apparent.

[@Xyz99899]

Trump warned Germany

[@fitofito1001]

Because she wanted Germany completely rely on Russia for its energy supply. By this way, she could support her dear comrade Putin.

[@my-gym-ex1ft]

Do you even know that it was a decision taken in the early 2000s? Those plants are very old and need extensive maintenance. The solution would be to build new ones which is not an immediate solution. You are saying it as it they took 25 perfect nuclear power plants and decided to turn them off.

[@michaelsommers2356]

@@MrDisasterboy Wind and solar simply can't replace nuclear, for technical reasons. Wind and solar are not reliable. That is, they cannot be relied upon to produce a constant amount of energy. The wind doesn't always blow, and the Sun is not always out, especially at night. When you need more power, you need it NOW, within milliseconds. When you turn on a lamp, that extra power right away. Wind and solar can't do that. Nuclear can, but still isn't as good as fossil fuels. The Practical Engineering channel did a series of videos on the power grid, and how it works.

[@pdballerina]

Imagine knowing you need cheap energy to run your economy and intentionally cutting yourself off from it.

[@DommTom]

Turns out that energy had a hidden cost all the time. And we all just ignored it.

[@1.GRiMReAPER]

Because Germany is not ruled by Germans, but is ruled by Washington. Biden destroyed NS pipeline and Germany said thank you Master. - Russia will always stay the neighbour of Germany and working together was the best deal for Germany. Period!

[@retroactivehistory]

@@DommTomthis is basic stuff.

[@DommTom]

@@retroactivehistory What's basic stuff?

[@JonROlsen]

Biden said, We have ways to end the project, I promise you.

[@YN-ot9jk]

Closing nuclear plants was a disastrous decision. Even if Germany still had great relationships with Russia and get cheap gas it would impact diversification of the energy sources and electric grid stability. Also note that gas and oil prices can vary wildly while uranium contracts are usually fixed long-term. That should've been obvious even 15 years ago.

[@thewingedringer]

It's a bad decision, but the public wanted it, so why act like it was any politician's decision to make?

[@aptrando]

It’s a good case for reading news outside your country and constantly seeing what’s normal elsewhere. If you’re the outlier, like Germany on nuclear, you should take a real hard look at the issue. A lot of people said the German shutdown of nuclear was idiotic, but the people pushed it through. That along with other structural failures that reflect how too many Germans voted and well… here we are. You reap what you sow. At least you’ve got company with a whole bunch of other progressive forward democracies shitting the bed due to their feelings first policies.

[@GonzoTehGreat]

@@thewingedringer Because it was? Politicians make unpopular decisions all the time.

[@stompysnake8233]

The real funny thing is that the real reason why a lot of german politicians don't want nuclear energy is because they have personal investments in solar/wind energy. Investing in nuclear would mean less investment and market share of solar/wind, which means less money in the pockets of those politicians and their friends. Follow the money.

[@endintiers]

I am their leader, so I must follow them...

[@ribe3434]

The real big problem is that politicians are not held accountable for bad decisions.

[@wisenber]

They stand for election and are accountable to voters. You want accountability, blame the people that voted for it over and over again.

[@123cvbn]

@@wisenber No....... It's Both. Blame Her and the Voters.

[@pachomiussinanicus1728]

voters should be the true population that held accountable for theirs selection

[@lazylad8544]

Amen to that

[@miltonkawatak5659]

. Politicians share responsibility with their voters in a democracy and when they assume power they share power with other elected politicians.

[@anasttau9908]

She did not just ruined Germany as well as the rest of Europe. Then came another german - Ursula and did the rest. I am almost 70, I never, never saw Europe in the state it is, nor have I seen europeans so angry.

[@1.GRiMReAPER]

Germans are not angry enough and there is no real democracy in Germany. Soon the populair AFD party will be banned, so existing political powers will stay in place and nothing will change.

[@alicarikcioglu8619]

Man, Germany was so proud with those extreme taxes and insane bureacracy, now blame this economic model to Angela or Ursula only....? 😂

[@williamwatitwa3534]

Because you have never seen a stranger bricks and emerging markets

[@matthewhuszarik4173]

Your memory is failing you.

[@РафаэльСаркисянц-ъ2т]

странным образом, всё это оказалось на руку США😀

[@baronvonjo1929]

There is a lot more to it, but she relied way too heavily on the US for the military. She relied way too heavily on Russia for energy. She relied way too heavily on China as a means to help the German economy. She should have made Germany much more self-sufficient

[@stupidburp]

Lack of vision. The warning signs were there to see.

[@mengreat6982]

How's a Small population and not a big country could be self reliance in every aspects ? Japan can't, France no , not UK, definitely not Japan and S.korea as well

[@zakariah_altibi]

Germany is forbidden from having a strong military Has no abundance of gas like russia Has no slavery like working conditions like china So all in all, you are a genius

[@calc1657]

@@mengreat6982 'more self-sufficient' not completely self-sufficient

[@jfm148]

​​​@@mengreat6982All those countries dependant on politicians and the State as investors when ALL those countries could have relied on their private sectors to be more independent. Guess what, the US rest on the shoulders of great entrepreneurs for almost everything but transport. Everything else is private enterprise. The real problem is their struggle to keep political internal power concentrated in a large burocratic State.

[@Spieel]

is that not the tradition. Destroy Europe every 50 to 100 years?

[@toseeornot2see]

Sadly seems to be headed that way. I wish for peace and prosperity. But you cannot have these with American hegemony and economic policies.

[@trinydex]

what a heartbreaking thing to realize when it's said so succinctly

[@righteousmammon9011]

@@toseeornot2see lol it was America that picked Europe up and dusted it off and set it on its prosperous course

[@SDM496]

Europe is controlled by USA. USA keeps Europe in check by starting war with Russia. USA wanted to sell it's fracked gas to Europe since 2008. It has finally achieved it.

[@dntbther]

​@@toseeornot2see sure Vlad...

[@Ratinevo]

Yes, she shut down nuclear energy and took on Russia’s gas, that is what spiralled into this industrial death. Energy is a core economy and industrial driver.

[@lynxlecher9547]

True, but that's what people in the comments are saying. Can you believe what nonsense these ydyots spew?

[@АлександрФилиппов-о4э]

Nuclear energy is Russian uranium. 🙂

[@BocaoZ]

Russia was a reliable supplier until Germany stabbed Russia in the back

[@Notsogoodguitarguy]

@@BocaoZ lol

[@gehdochnicht]

The real culprit is not one person but a group of people called the GRÜNEN, whose work has always been counter productive and have been wrong about almost absolutely everything since 1990 and even before.

[@richatlarge462]

Never mind that, she broke German society.

[@viperpit-k5j]

Wrong, Trump did by taking millions out in loans, then nord stream 2.

[@richardcrighton8079]

i am british and have lived in cologne for 13 years. germany and the germans have a major fundamental flaw: they can't get out of their own way. this has been true for decades but now their jewel in the crown - the engineering industry - is not performing as it once did. in fact, it's in trouble. the germans have a fundamental problem: their inability to get out of their own way,which now extends into their getting into everybody else's way through the medium of pointless red tape and endless paperwork. (i suppose if everyone looks busy, then they are busy; busy producing nothing). for example, recently, stadt cologne has effectively shut my business down (which was doing quite well thank you) and there is no comeback. i am now officially unemployed at the jobcentre and relying on the state to feed me as opposed to me feeding myself. there is no sense here, just more endless bureaucracy. the whole state is monstrously top-heavy and no-one (apart from a foreigner such as myself) can see this. and as a result, the germans have become lazy, unimaginative, unmotivated, entitled, and basically dull. they give nothing and expect everything. it's about time the germans woke up and realised the good old days are gone and they have replaced it with a forest of pointless paperwork. the answer is simple: the state needs to strip back the state and invest in business development. invest in the energy of its people and the natural enterprise of the freedom of creative business thinking.

[@AhmedYouTube1]

Strip back the State and make it impotent like you Brits did in the U.K.? I wonder why the state had to take such an extraordinary decision to suspend your enterprise entity? The competent authorities must have established a valid reasons which compelled them to enforce the regulations in place which you must have failed to comply with. Otherwise, Germany would end up like the U.K. which it is far from. Have you had any chances of success in appealing the suspension of your commercial operations?

[@ngtboost44]

This is pretty much the most accurate, straight to the point summary of the fundamental issue with germans, that I have ever read in any comment section here.

[@FreeWanderingThinker]

Very good comment. They also extended this bureaucratic monster to the rest of the EU. I have never understood why UK and France let Germany take control of the EU.

[@sidneymullings5980]

As someone who lives in Germany, the worst legalised scam is the „radio and television tax“ and when I ask why people are paying for an obsolete service the answer I always get is „das ist Deutschland“ that enough should tell you everything you need to know

[@santostv.]

But your country isn’t doing much better and mentality is probably similar, Germany at least still has for now a big industrial base meanwhile the uk is living of London financial hub, hoping their don’t have a British leyland moment. My perspective is that Germans are stubborn and can’t be criticized because everyone is inferior.

[@jerrycaughman6324]

But I thought those millions of cheap workers were going to power Germany into the next century. They couldn’t be having a detrimental effect could they….

[@SchnellerSchmetterling]

Who said they were cheap labor? German or not they get paid the same on payroll!

[@AbcDef-d7b]

You got the wrong set of immigrants who just dwell on social security and play on religious cards.

[@AbcDef-d7b]

You got the wrong set of immigrants who just dwell on social security and play on religious cards.

[@herr.schmidt]

@@SchnellerSchmetterling And those who don't want to work can live very well on transfer payments. If that isn't enough, they do some illegal work on the side. There are no consequences.

[@danijelbutkovic4441]

​@@SchnellerSchmetterlingWith respect we could debate that.From München with love..

[@RTOneZer0]

Trump was right on Germany's energy dependencies on Russia and on the foolishness of the open border policy.

[@debilthomes501]

Absolutely true.

[@Manny-ee6gl]

Obama said the same thing. lol You act like he is brilliant.

[@TheKkpop1]

German complains about cheap gas from Russia but is addicted to expensive gas from the USA.😂

[@downandout992]

​@@Manny-ee6glthe difference being Obama reading something that someone else wrote off of a teleprompter, versus actually comprehending the situation.

[@StillAliveAndKicking_]

@@downandout992Why is your nose orange?

[@HuyHTX]

Merklenomic means taking advantage of cheap gas from Russia.

[@miteshghadi3146]

Everyone knows who broke Nordstream

[@abtrtomr]

yup. russian war crimes broke nordstream.

[@user-nh1yb9mk7y]

She could have secured gas elsewhere. Trump offered gas for 300 usd. And he was laughed at.

[@jessefisher1809]

which we all know now... was intended as a weapon.

[@davidotto9216]

And cheap labour in China until Chinese ev car stole German market

[@raider3739]

The problem is that under the cloak of 'workers' Germany imported people from 'peaceful' countries. They didn't import from countries with reputation for hard working people.

[@ragmarsegundo7866]

Then they should have imported them from CHINA by your criteria.

[@incognitofelon]

How can you talk about a whole group of people being hard-working or not? Being hard-working is an individual trait not a characteristic that can describe of masses of people.

[@sravsy]

They are nw misusing the system bd taking social benefits with too many kids nd not working at all even though they are healthy.. the germans old way of think all people are good nd honest and not changing their attitude towards strict checks on social security beneficiaries is soon going to break economy

[@wjb786]

If Germans were so hardworking they wouldn't be facing such issues.

[@jpf6141]

Its the same in Sweden. Closed down power plants has increased electricity costs with 800% at occasions. Plus uncontrolled mass immigration has ruined the economy of all western europe.

[@jonathanandrew2909]

Canada, too. GDP has remained constant, but we import ~1M a year which means lower standards of living.

[@NaviSall-rr]

The WEF may have had a lot to do with that.

[@knighthood91]

That's kinda hard to believe, since nuclear power plants are the MOST EXPENSIVE way to produce energy. Sorted from cheapest to most expensive: Wind Solar Hydro Coal Oil Gas Nuclear

[@jpf6141]

@ you must not have calculated accurately i guarantee you that.

[@knighthood91]

@@jpf6141 Maybe you forgot to include the insane subsidies for nuclear power in your calculations?

[@thryce82]

Baltic states told them and told them doing deals with Russians was dumb. Americans told them. Became reliant anyways. Instead of solving their issues with nuclear power expansion they are closing them. Wish Germans well and all but this was a pretty huge own goal.

[@Pawel_Mrozek]

Poland also was against. We even tried to block the construction of Nord Stream and for a while we succeeded, but the Germans are stubborn. They decided to program their self-destruction mechanism. And now they want to drag everyone around them to the bottom.

[@ngoyemichel5406]

Baltic States themselves have a huge reserve of oil and some gas, also have smaller economies. The US is the first oil producer in the world but still imports a lot. You could blame her on cutting back in nuclear power, but I remember the hysteria at the time, the push for greener solutions away from nuclear. Environmentalist protesting on the streets. She made the most sensible decisions at the time.

[@buildmotosykletist1987]

@@ngoyemichel5406 : America does import a tiny amount of oil but the export much, much more than they import. Please check your facts before commenting.

[@jfm148]

@@thryce82 100% correct. She was warned.

[@joehowe9532]

Most of America’s refineries are set up to refine heavy sour crude. The new oil produced by fracking or hydraulic fracturing can’t be refined in most of Americas refineries, so it is exported at a premium price to other countries and imports heavy sour crude at a much lower price, that is refined in American refineries. also, America exports a massive amount of finished oil products, such as, LNG, and all kinds of distilled products from oil. So America produces almost all of the oil it needs for its economy.

[@Drganguli]

Germany had a big competitive advantage due to cheap gas and oil from Russia which is gone now. China is also targeting Germany’s engineering products for years.

[@jotr.9786]

that gas was cheap for a reason... it would have been putins way or no gas.

[@Drganguli]

@ Yes it is was a Faustian bargain and as usual there are consequences

[@gumby2241]

Don't forget Germany sponged off the US for decades with low nato funding and a high trade surplus. Trump is now going to put the screws to your remaining economy.

[@spacecube8561]

and let's not forget, the chinese made sure that every german big investment in china was 50% chinese owned - now meaning, who do you think thought chinese to produce byd cars and quality controls, which also turned back to bite germans in the a$$

[@BocaoZ]

@@jotr.9786 you are wrong. so wrong. gas price was beneficial for both sides. germany got the energy it would not have otherwise, russia made profits. win-win.

[@unclepete100]

She is/was the most disastrous Chancellor during the whole post WW2 era.

[@AlgeistNydream]

Agree. But I'd say it's close to a tie with Schröder.😉 I'm German btw.

[@unclepete100]

@AlgeistNydream fair call...

[@SurlyShirley]

Maybe so but everyone went along with it

[@SalaciousBCrumb-md3lk]

Well, it is a democracy. Obviously, she kept getting the votes for a long time. So who is really at fault?

[@docp92]

@@unclepete100 on what planet you live? During her time we had the most prosperous German economy and peaceful time. I mean, she was not perfect and she made a lot of mistakes… but saying she was the worst chancellor post WW2 makes me question your sanity

[@ibg.recife]

Becoming energy self-sufficient is the ultimate goal for every country. The more you rely on others, the more dangerous your future is.

[@kennie0325]

Don’t try to find excuses. You know Your biggest problem is not realizing your biggest ally is your worst enemy

[@ALFarrell-kv6ok]

@@kennie0325 How's the weather in Moscow?

[@kennie0325]

@ALFarrell-kv6ok I’m in Lisbon and it’s fantastic☺️🥂

[@retroactivehistory]

@ALFarrell-kv6okhow’s the economy in Germany?

[@Ammar.Hasan.]

⁠@ALFarrell-kv6okhow’s the weather in USA?

[@nothingness863]

@ALFarrell-kv6ok massive cope

[@fjdkfdfjdf33]

Reasons: 1. Dependancy on Russian gas 2. Dependancy on China exports 3. shutting down nuclear power

[@crushnevnikita8575]

nope... the reason is simple you stop the cheap energy from russia, stop turning around the fact...

[@MrNeversweat]

Now that they don't depend on Russian gas but American gas, how powerful are they?

[@BruceJ999]

And tell me which Gas cheaper than Russian one?As for imports they can't do anything since China is a big market and getting out of the Chinese market would be very st*pid since other countries will take that market. As for Nuclear Power Uncle Sam influenced that decision...Germany was doomed from the start

[@crushnevnikita8575]

@@MrNeversweat this is the problem, the production cost is high, making them hard to face their competitor like china, is not about dependancy on china exports but the people prefer to buy goods who have almost same quality but cheaper..

[@gordonnorris4202]

If Germany would have secured their energy independence they could have still manufacture competitive products, at affordable prices and China would not have become such a dangerous competition.

[@wassdepp1]

Same analysis for Olaf and URSULA please. Will you dare?

[@antonsinitsyn6420]

Free speech isn't work like that bro

[@hand587]

They literally have another video with Olaf's face on it talking about how Germany's not doing enough for the economy

[@IliassRacing]

Whataboutism much?

[@izidorisakov6143]

Yes, we want to hear that!

[@puertousbmonkey]

DW is shietleftist

[@paulmufumbwa]

The real reason is what she's left out😊

[@streetmedia2245]

True

[@streetmedia2245]

Everything that is officially unresolved

[@Carmi766]

Which is?

[@m_a_i_l_l_i_w]

She’s a WEF neo Marxist puppet.

[@Sem-v7z]

She started the end of Europe

[@nothingness863]

why?

[@Sem-v7z]

@ die grune wende, Nordstream, wir schaffen das…

[@nothingness863]

@@Sem-v7z are you having a stroke?

[@Sem-v7z]

@@nothingness863 not at the moment, Brexit would never have happend without this, and so do many other problems we are facing now

[@nothingness863]

@@Sem-v7z without what? are you still lost?

[@AspectRatioPolice]

She destroyed not only the economy, she destroyed the fabric of German society. in 2010 she stated: "We failed miserably at integration ( of the Turkish population)" in 2015 she bypassed the Dublin agreements to bring in 2 million people who don't share the German values. and claimed:" We can do it" No, not possible.

[@Kompromist]

The problem are yesterday-people who want to keep the status quo.

[@CharlieMcNugets]

Like Russians who long for the days of the Soviet Union. lol

[@hyhhy]

With status quo you mean a well-performing economy, I guess.

[@Kompromist]

@hyhhy oh yeah... Very well. Recession... The CDU got handed over a working but unfair economy. And they tare it down to an unfair Recession, that they handed over to the new government with the tightest financial rules in the entire world.

[@mananmehta6910]

That's basically Germans. They hate change & love stability even if that's disastrous. Basic German motto is anti-Darwinian. Whole Darwin believed- Change or perish, Germans believe Change & Perish

[@RaVNeFLoK]

Fostering other trade relations makes sense. Cheap gas makes sense. Dependency on it with no redudansies does not. Opening the borders for unlimited people does not make sense. Being a steady hand in the EU financial crisis was good. Shutting down nuclear power that was working did not make sense. She was a mixed bag.

[@thegreatdane3627]

Making Germany reliant on russian gas was a bad idea. It was always clear that russia would use it as leverage sooner or later.

[@RaVNeFLoK]

@@thegreatdane3627 agreed. Hence why she should had focused on redundancies instead of dependency. Not destroying your own Nuclear power plants would be one of those redundancies.

[@MrDisasterboy]

@@RaVNeFLoK I totally get why Fukushima made people worried about nuclear power. She just reintroduced an old phase out. And they have beeen phased out by the current government. Whose closure of the last one was delayed because of the gas crisis.

[@RaVNeFLoK]

@@MrDisasterboy i get that too - but first of Germany does not experience earthquakes like Japan does - and it is earthquakes that made these crisis. And second of one could at least let the nuclear power plants be used until their natural expiration dates- they were built and working just fine. Having all your eggs in one Putin colored basket is a much higher risk than the risk of a major earthquakes suddenly hitting Central Europe - defying all science - for the first time in written history ;)

[@gagamba9198]

Well, it is understandable because Germany too faces a significant earthquake and tsunami threat just like Japan does, so it's prudent the nuclear power plants were shut. Who can forget Hamburg's many tsunamis of the past and the earthquakes in Cologne, Dresden, Munich, and many other locales? And the Alpine volcanoes.

[@RoadstersRegistry]

It has everything to do with Russian cheap oil to Germany

[@DanielPeev02]

Its cheap Russian natural gas (LNG)

[@SteveLomas-k6k]

Germany has some of the largest coal reserves on the planet, nothing to do with net zero restrictions?

[@williamwatitwa3534]

The us sabotaged Germany

[@Jose-og909]

Yep they should keep buying Russian gas

[@robertskrj6555]

True. Thats why unknown entity blew it up. Who could it be, the Russians?

[@YoutubeYoutube-sg6hz]

Sanctioning your own supplier is the dumbest $hit someone can do!

[@dypolesolutions3970]

foools, they then wsted money supporting zelensky , zero economic benefit!

[@spacecube8561]

being dependent on 1 unreliable supplier is the dumbest $hit someone can do!

[@josiahwanjiku9187]

​@@spacecube8561. Unreliable? Gss through a pipeline is unreliable?

[@Mmurtazaliev]

@@spacecube8561Yeah so unreliable that supplied Germany for 31 consecutive years until Germany itself sanctioned Russia

[@mzrorange7527]

@@spacecube8561 oh really?, now look at german economy LOL

[@mudge40]

Maybe get German women to have more children by having more apartments available for native Germans?

[@tecumseh4095]

The little guy with the mustache said that, too.

[@kgr_0715]

Yes, maybe more german girls with more money incentives for bringing children could help too, all salary goes almost in rent and there are not even departments

[@torstimyle1355]

Germany is too feministic for that. Career women are the worst women when it comes to the well-being of society.

[@Simpledot00]

😂 so true comment

[@cristianedefariahenrique1815]

Also!

[@buscseik]

Please include in your report where Germany buy the gas at the moment, and how much that party is asking for the gas.

[@celticgibson]

Over four times the cost and the Germans gladly pay it without complaint

[@buscseik]

@@celticgibson but do you know for who?

[@TennSingtsuan9697]

Dependent on Russia for energy. Dependent on China for manufacturing. Dependent on the United States for military. What could go wrong?

[@nothingness863]

what would be better? depending on US on energy, depending on US on manufacturing and depending on US for military?

[@Tarof7556]

@@nothingness863 You don't actualy understand do you? If you depend on US or China then you are their vassal. You can cooporate with any of them, but that require you to not depend on any of them. So when they give you a bad deal you have the option to tell them to piss off. You can't tell someone you depend on to piss off. When they say jump, you ask how high. You don't have the power to ask why.

[@nukiolbartes6279]

one could ask the question as well, where would germany stand now without cheap russian gas, chinese export and us security umbrella

[@Steeler-wg5zo]

and where would be Europe? No money from Germany for decades for all the Economic experts here in this vlog.

[@germanCrowbar]

O, jemand aus Steele.😁

[@jotr.9786]

@@Steeler-wg5zo then don't cry about the current situation...

[@Steeler-wg5zo]

@@jotr.9786 Not me, but Europe, if certain countries could no longer hold out their hands...compris?

[@jotr.9786]

@@Steeler-wg5zo i'm from romania? do you want to know where those millions of dollars from the eu went? in the pocket of corrupt politicians of the psd and pnl party

[@PunkDogCreations]

Her policies also harmed the safety of the German and European people, especially women and girls.

[@shuidifengliu]

New CEO always blame previous CEO for company's misfortunes

[@gocalixto]

Why point fingers in an older government if the performance of the current one isn't any better? Actually much worse?

[@IndoWorldwithSam]

Maturity is when you Realise She was Right on Diversification of Energy and Cheap Supply…Otherwise we would see Same results A Decade ago

[@GangGang-z8x]

She runid everything, and so did Schulz

[@ai_made_easy]

Scholz has been in power for 3 minutes.

[@clarencemaseko428]

Complaining about dependency on cheap Russian gas and switching to expensive expensive USA gas is one of the most mind-boggling things

[@BatsAwesomeIn2030]

The current government incompetence can't just be blamed on previous era. They are also handling the difficult circumstances poorly.

[@JacobMartin-l1f]

All I remember the current Green and Socialist government did was increase welfare payments by +25%. Not even a joke.

[@lgnfve]

Trump warned germany and EU about russia and was laughed at. you reap what you sow

[@harryofbc9942]

But they’re the ones who are refusing to buy Russian gas in Germany so? It’s not like Russia said we won’t sell it to you anymore. and Trump has his base of support in many states that are heavy oil producers so of course he wants them to buy more expensive American crude

[@blochspin]

its worse than that. Reagan was the first to oppose the pipeline from the then soviet union but Kohl just ignored him.

[@docp92]

@@blochspin hey Reagan and Trump both warned about that because they were interested that the US was the one selling the gas. The last thing an American would care is on the wellbeing of another country.

[@blochspin]

@@docp92 its called diversification. It is not smart to be over reliant on a single source for a strategic material. Don't let your conspiracy tendencies blind your economic sense.

[@keithosiewicz4340]

The US will sell energy even if Germany doesn’t buy a drop. It is crazy to be dependent on Russia.

[@adn-v5l]

It simple fact, cutting Russian oil led to Germany falling. Not that smart woman.

[@banksiasong]

Russia’s War on Ukraine has troubled the German economy. It previously benefitted from cheap Russian gas, and good demand for its manufacturing sector. They no longer exist to any significant extent.

[@1.GRiMReAPER]

Wake up, its almost 2025! There is no Russian war with Ukraine. Its a proxy war between Nato with Russia in playground Ukraine.

[@cdngrrleh]

Yet no one is blaming Putin?

[@Maywindow]

How has the European Union become increasingly weaker? cause of Russia's cheap energy? On the contrary, it is Brexit and the Russia-Ukraine war. Who is happiest to see this? The United States, of course. Far more cunning than Europe, the U.S. continues to weaken the EU and is even in the process of buying Greenland. The more Europe relies on the U.S., the more the U.S. can act as it pleases.

[@rambabu84]

Three blunders she committed: one was opening the borders, the second was closing down the nuclear reactors, and third was underestimating the Chinese threat!

[@swegrl]

She chose economics over security. Cocked up both and here we are :)

[@noworriesnoproblems6382]

Ohhh so Germany get to replace there population. Almost feels like it shouldn't be called Germany then though?

[@JacobMartin-l1f]

We should make it official and ask UAE to become a member state.

[@incognitofelon]

Have you heard of a concept called citizenship? It has it has nothing to do with race and ethnicity.

[@GnanadesikanK]

Excellent and comprehensive analysis

[@Sandeep-Prakash]

Closing nuclear power plants was a dumb decision. But anyways current government can revisit these which they still haven't done. They are stuck with age old stuff which is why its worsening further.

[@JacobMartin-l1f]

Current government is a coalition of Greens and Socialists. Of course they won't fix anything.

[@BjoernWelter]

We’re supposed to be one of the most organised countries in the world.. everything has a norm in Germany, but we lost track of immigrants.. the result was last night in Magdeburg

[@Root_066]

I worked in a German Engineering company. I could say Germany need to relook at their work culture. Its damn slow and process oriented. Rather than bringing the product faster and affordable for the market, Germans focus on making worlds most toughest built product which will survive a nuke attack and because of this , the manufacturing cost shoot up like himalayas. I used VW branded cars for years, which I felt so unreliable and I will never buy a German car again. I am happy with Japanese, "not so safe" but highly reliable and economical car which gives me peace of mind as long as I am not killed in accident.

[@fio123]

During World War II, Soviet made tanks were only guaranteed to run 200 kilometers, while Germany.... So they lost

[@bimsbarkas]

So you think Germany is making things too well and not well enough at the same time? Makes sense.

[@dgdave2673]

You seem to contradict ?

[@davidbrayshaw3529]

The German brand was "quality". Of course, quality costs. But you would have to agree, "quality" isn't as much of a consideration as it once was. You can only trade on the old brand for so long before the market wakes up. German products have been deteriorating in quality for years, but they still market their products as "premium", and with prices that reflect "premium" quality. While I don't dispute any of the challenges that have been presented to German manufacturing, for far too long they have traded on the merits of yesteryear rather than the reality of today. Like yourself, my family and I have owned all number of German cars ranging from a 1963 Beetle (nearly new) to Audis, BMW's and Mercedes. My last Merc was my last straw. It was a rubbish car, with a premium price. My entire extended family now owns Japanese cars. And none of us can't afford a German car, perhaps with the exception of my son, but we all favour quality, reliability, longevity and value over everything else. That's why we once purchased German cars. And the same is to be said for my Miele appliances. They used to be unbeatable. My childhood family home had Miele appliances that didn't faulter. I've replaced an oven, dishwasher and stove top in ten short years due to failure. And I paid a premium price for them. "Made in Germany" used to mean "buy once". Now it means "sucked in".

[@davegordon6233]

you contradicted yourself. if German made products were so good, why VW sucks?

[@JiffyMcpop-ps3he]

WEF lust for war.

[@edc1569]

Germany shouldn’t have built such close connections with Russia?

[@KevinMcgovern-c1d]

​@@edc1569shouldn't have built so strong ties with the USA a country that only cares about its self

[@thomHD]

Germany in particular has long benefited from restrained military spending - Japan and Germany both. This point is understated, but can be stated as a matter of fact (and not to validate Trump). It's no coincidence these two countries are famous for their infrastructure, even if many would rather put it down to national stereotypes.

[@felixalili6289]

Why not validate Donald Trump on this point? While relying on the US for defense with little spending is not new, Trump is the first to seriously demand the Europeans to increase it.

[@user-nh1yb9mk7y]

@@thomHD so instead of having 1000 tanks they now have 1000000 Syrians to feed. That is where underinvestment to army went

[@joehowe9532]

In the 69 years that Germany has been in NATO, not once have they bothered to spend the minimum agreed-upon defense spending of a mere 2% of GDP. Germany has refused to do its part in helping to defend itself and other European nations. I think the term is called freeloading! Donald Trump has been spot on in bashing the Germans for their refusal to do their part in defense of democracy against the Russians and the Chinese! 😞.

[@davidbrayshaw3529]

To a point. That was certainly true in the decades following the "War". I would not dare to counter that argument. But it cannot be ignored just how much the US's alliances with other nations feeds the US economy through defence contracts. The likes of GE, Lockheed and a wealth of others have benefitted greatly from agreements made with the likes of Germany and Japan and many other nations who have not spent big on their military might.

[@thomHD]

@@felixalili6289 I would, but then Trump is going about it more like a gangster's protection racket. There's also the reality how much US big tech benefits from tax havens in Europe. That's a problem just for Europe, too, but the EU and UK could -- in a very Trumpian way -- put pressure on Ireland to raise its tax to 20% like it should be. Trump wouldn't be very happy about that.

[@Vatnik_tschistilka]

Definetly one of the 3 worst chancellors along with Olaf and Gerd.

[@pwp8737]

let's not forget the number one worst chancellor

[@Vatnik_tschistilka]

@@pwp8737 I don't count him as it's Not the Federal republic. I also don't count Otto as one of the good ones. Different system, different time, different society. Americans also don't count George of Brunswick one of their good Leaders.

[@McDLT999999999999999]

The painter wouldn’t have let foreigners in

[@AlexT-v2m]

Do not place the blame solely on Merkin. Germany's decline stems partly from intensified competition, particularly from China, and partly from the diminishing competence of its own industry.

[@alicarikcioglu8619]

Yep. EXTREME taxes and INSANE bureacracy on every economic level. She brought in the slave immigrants to continue an inefficient system, but it collapsed anyway.

[@weilushu2488]

中国一直在像德国学习。十年前德国提出工业4.0，中国当时机具紧迫感，因为中国工业还很落后，根本无从跟进工业4.0。今天，德国工业每百人的工业机器人数量被中国超过，中国绝大多数汽车生产都是黑灯工厂，不需要人工，而当年提出工业4.0的德国却不见踪影。我认为这不仅仅是德国政府的错，这是整个德国人民的错。你们太懒散，不思进取了。

[@fio123]

I am a Chinese. The Chinese government subsidizes electric vehicle enterprises in a large amount. Do you think this is competition? LOL

[@msshad898]

Germany is way too slow when it comes to developing its infrastructure. Any change has to go through a series of unnecessary bureaucracy.

[@theinfralink6598]

Trading with China and reliance on cheap energy from Russia become negative factors for German economy? And yet no mention of bombing North Stream pipelines which force Germany to buy 4x more expensive energy from U.S.? 😮

[@kibs917]

All what you have mentioned are the things which enabled Germany to be a giant economy bigger that of UK, France and others in Europe. 1. Germany's building up a heavy millitary would have angered its neighbours like uk and France where by they would feel threatened by a strong Germany. Secondly the money it would waste on millitary was being used to build the economy. Thirdly if Germany had a heavy millitary it would spend much money in fighting wars in different parts of the world. So this money was saved. 2. Germany relationship with russia helped it to get gas and oil at cheaper prices, hence fostering economic growth. 3. It's trade relationship with China also helped it in that it has a small population but has technology whereby it needed market for its goods and services. And China was the best country to give that to the Germanys. Lastly Germany cannot be self reliant because it doesn't have natural resources, small in size and its population isnot big enough to offer market to its products.

[@megarafjogos]

are you mental? European partners angered by a strong germany? Look at poland, they keep spending more and more on their military, and everyone in europe is cheering for them... Germany's relationship with russia helped it fund a dictatorship. Germany was better off before they had made any deals with russia or china. Germany doesn't need to be self reliant.They have the entire EU ready to help them with whatever they need.

[@kibs917]

@@megarafjogos How can you compare Germany to Poland. Germany building up a strong millitary it means it will manufacturing most of the staff at home. Whereas Poland is just a buyer of weapons.

[@kibs917]

@@megarafjogos you might be a zelensky apologist .what was the problem with Germany trading with russia and China. You are the same people supporting the Israelis genocide in the Palestines and Syria .

[@missano3856]

My understanding is that Germany could produce more gas than it does, not like Russia, Qatar or the US but some.

[@mellowman1020]

None of your points make any sense mate.

[@shinramx]

The ultimate reason : Following US

[@VonRix]

Clearly the reason is she followed Russia and Russia betrayed it, by doing something that made all cooperation with it impossible. But we can’t say Germany wasn’t warned. It was warned by everyone .

[@1.GRiMReAPER]

Germany is no sovereign country. Its still occupied and ruled by the USA.

[@keithosiewicz4340]

We had nothing to do with this. Good luck

[@KraszuPolis]

If they would follow USA there would;t get dependent on Russia gas, and there likely would be no war either. USA had made you economic superpower after WW2. and in exchange you allied with they and Europe biggest enemy. It was a massive mistake to give you democracy world would be much better if you were USA colony.

[@julienriou4511]

Yes ! As European you must ally with our geographical partner : Russia. Period. From a military perspective, China should also be our ally.

[@steveharvey6421]

Her game plan was always buying cheap Russian gas, sell to the Chinese and let America protect Germany. Now Germany does not buy Russian gas the Chinese are competitors, and America is fed up protecting Germany.

[@inv0019]

Yes she did.

[@jjamesbradley1956]

Omg are you finally waking up Germany???

[@umidnazarov5725]

Just never blame U.S imposed foreign politics and you are fine

[@pratvachan]

The period of stability defines how hard one would fall during the times of distress.

[@mrashikhan19]

I think everyone forgets. Chinese cars replaced VW. Hence, automotive sector is struggling.

[@EskiZagra]

So, let's recap: decided to rely on gas from an authoritarian regime and close 25 or so nuke reactors? Failing to invest in innovation? Open doors to immigrant ' doctors' and definitely not criminals? Being uncompetitive and lost on manufacturing? All of them smart ideas, o doubt. What could possibly go wrong for Germany...

[@marnig9185]

No,the Old economy breaks itself,no Innovation no future😂

[@richardgaotama3466]

But could it be truly be blamed on her though? Without hindsight it seems those decisions made sense and was popular. No one could predict with full certaintity things would turn out this way.

[@mengreat6982]

US if you knowing the complete truth

[@halonkin2]

It could totally be blamed on her, those decisions never made sense.

[@blueskies7357]

Actually, relying on someone like putin or ru fully on energy doesn't make sense. I thought EU knows their neighbor ru more than anyone? It blows my mind she didn't see this coming. Are Germans still thinking putin or ru will be a reliable partner someday?

[@JasonBrown-zp8tx]

starting around the 1980s most Western countries moved from a production economy to a service economy. moving things around doesn't create anything for the future

[@hamjii]

Not just German economy but the whole country. Energy, industry, finance... and most of all, the people. But they chose her didn't they, like some other countries.

[@patrickgz]

is there a hidden message? she did admit about minsk objective and failure, right?

[@chrimbus71]

The cow broke europe

[@diuelsa9118]

This story reminds me the book [who moved my cheese]. When people had good life they take it for granted. When good times came to an end they act like victims.

[@kahunaburger2012]

Yes, she absolutely broke it.

[@jotr.9786]

she literally handed germany over to putin on a plate to be blackmailed by him with his gas ...

[@gagamba9198]

Schröder too. Of course, it also goes deeper in both the SPD and CDU as well as German industry such as BASF.

[@someguy3335]

People need to understand that Gouvernement spending is vastly different from private spending. For example: German Gouvernement borrows 1000 € at 2% per year. It spends the Money on new rail infrastructure and it gives the Order to a German company. That company needs to staff the new Project and hires new employees. Those employees get 60€ per year. Now assume the income tax is at ca 30%. The new German workers lead to new income tax revenues of 20€ per year. So basically the new Tax revenues pay for the cost of the loan. So if the Gouvernement invests well it basically has an infinite money glitch. You can't compare Gouvernement spending to private spending, because Gouvernement spending can more or less automatically increase the Gouvernements revenues in many cases.

[@urbansenicar81]

"So if the Gouvernement invests well it basically has an infinite money glitch." ... Anyone can have infinite money glitch, if one invests well.

[@someguy3335]

@urbansenicar81 Well Sure, but for Gouvernements its much easier than for everybody else

[@Vatnik_tschistilka]

That's how it worked under Eisenhower, when 1 invested Dollar created 4 Dollars of growth. Today Not so much . Germany could Take on a 50 Billion loan, but what would be the resulting growth? 1% of GDP? That's 40billlion.

[@someguy3335]

@@Vatnik_tschistilka you don't need crazy growth for these Investments to make sense. You just need enough growth to cover the additional loan cost. In your example if you take on dept of 50 billion at 2% you need to increase your revenues by more than 1 billion annually for it to make economic sense. Depending on the Tax Level that's achievable with a lot less Money than 40 billion. Probably less than 10 billion. Also don't forget: apart from Money issues you also get the new infrastructure (or something else) you paid for

[@johngalt3940]

They weren’t going to make good investments generating a return greater than 4%. Borrowing money just to invest isn’t a strategy for government:

[@benjaminphilips3737]

She thinks : Germany is my country, but Soviet Union is my home.😂😢😮😅😊

[@TheBadgolferman]

Politicians usually walk away with their gold plated pensions before their policies properly take hold. It's only when they leave power is when people find out how disastrous they really were. Same the world over.

[@GiaJandieri]

there are so many things missing 1. over-taxation. 2. over-regulation. 3. lack of private investment in innovation. Normal nations can compete with authoritarians only with freedom and easiness of business, that brings technological advance.

[@pseudovictim]

Next: Ursuala von der Leyen.

[@1.GRiMReAPER]

DW does not dare 😂😂

[@nypd8192]

How national economy was based on the never trusted countries? How trust and depend on Russia and China that much? Never considered having second and other option for any case? That's clear and huge failure.

[@eish3291]

If Germany did not get gas from Russia and did not sell into the Chinese market then what economic position would they have been in. Firstly less people would have been employed and that translates into less spending thus a lower GDP. Would Germany have become Europe,s paymaster ?

[@blueskies7357]

Yep exactly! Knowing ru she should have a backup plan

[@tomhermens7698]

Stability but no progress = faillure.

[@sauravkumarsinha1981]

Kissinger said that being friend of US is fatal, Germany never realized that....

[@melt6786]

If your economy and country depended on “cheap/affordable” energy to prosper, then it is a fallacy to use ideology instead of pragmatism to dictate your political short term actions: Russia doing what it did is wrong, no doubt, but your own country/citizens are more important, China, India and a host of other countries are still buying/trading/consuming Russian energy… does Germany have any short to mid term (of the same price) alternatives to Russian energy? How abt nuclear energy? Oh ya, “save the earth” .. Another ideological “problem” created by people whose lives are too comfortable to know the true extent of not having energy when u need it. Ukraine is not Germany’s problem, sanctions can be done in other ways and Russia itself is pragmatic that business is business … germany is shooting its own foot…

[@crypticTV]

9:24 How is this her fault?? It's the German car companies that should have realised this. Man nobody would ever wanna be the head of Germany if this is how Germans treat their leaders 😒😒😒😒😒😒😒😒

[@kibun1]

Yes she did. She broke all of Germany.

[@kelvinking4022]

Its like banning cheap source of energy and instead opting for expensive source of energy from uncle Sam

[@AlexandrosFotiadis]

The issue was not the energy depends of Russia but the support of conflict and war with Russia.

[@TEF586]

Germany voted her and her party into power three times over many years, approving their extreme left wing socialist policies. Instead of complaining now they should all be proud of what they have managed to do and its consequences.

[@graceli2522]

It's one side's favourite opinion, denying all her contributions to the great Germany at her time. If you don't credit her capability, can you lead Germany to be the powerhouse of the EU again? If not, please don't blame her for everything happening today.

[@RationalAUS]

Well it could have something to do with the quality of German cars.

[@Clarahalfstone77]

We have great cars. It just became too expensive to make them

[@Gravitatis]

@@Clarahalfstone77 your cars are 4x more expensive than what they are worth

[@Steeler-wg5zo]

They predominantly ride very well if you maintain them properly. However, most of the affected people think they can manage without the prescribed inspections. I suggest to buy French cars and do the same.

[@RationalAUS]

@@Clarahalfstone77 they don't hold up in Australia. Very expensive to repair. The electric cars are also not worth the price.

[@RationalAUS]

@@Steeler-wg5zo in Australia, the best cars to get are from Japan, South Korea, and more recently China (electric). They last forever when serviced.

[@sos10]

One important element is left out: the euro. Germany (and not only) has profited hugely from the euro since it was introduced, while other countries suffered because of it. This effect is now worn out. The German economy is no longer drugged.

[@hrc893]

I worked in a research in Germany that studied the different energy future of Germany. We insisted on the risk of the energy dependence from Russia. There were enough resources and capacities to go for renewables. Connecting north to south energy. Also Merkel's government stop the solar benefits for selling to the grid. Later on, also the wind power subside. It is not about the nuclear power or not...

[@branimirsalevic5092]

Yes she was really bad... If she was still in power, Germany would still have cheap energy, German industry would still be thriving although under heavy competition from China, Ukraine would be intact, and peace would be in Europe... really horrible. Now under Scholz it is soooo much better.

[@poulnrgaard7820]

Ukraine would not exist, yes. Would you accept your country was just annexed by Russia?

[@saltymonke3682]

She broke germany, EU, even her own party

[@maikelh5718]

Wir schaffen das NICHT

[@taxidude]

Germany looked after Germany whilst the rest of the EU lost their manufacturing bases to them. Then they delt with China and made some very bad choices where it came to energy. Reap the wind! They have been vetting the Irish budget since 2008! Perhaps we should vet theirs!

[@zahidsiddiqui7518]

NOT SHE. SHE WOULD NOT EVEN UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF ECONOMY. IT WAS HER FINANCE MINISTER MR. S. WHO WAS INFLEXIBLE TO HIS REPEATED MISTAKES TILL HIS RETIREMENT. HE WAS RELIEVED OF HIS TENURE BY AWARDING BAG FULL OF CURRENCY NOTES, FOR WHICH THERE IS NO OTHER EXAMPLE IN GERMAN HISTORY. GOD BLESS GERMANY.

[@MNN-s2h]

Brazilian here and I think the energy deal back in 2005 was good, cutting it in 2022 and paying more was one the problems.

[@lanas5488]

If only she can be a time traveler. 😉

[@minixtvbox]

6:12 imported Afrikaans like 14 Tory years in UK in londistan = Afrikaans slum

[@cristianJoker2512]

unfortunately, she did break it with all immigrants coming and doing all kind of stuff