Germany is the economic powerhouse of Europe. Economically speaking, when Germany sneezes, Europe catches cold.
At the moment Germany seems to be coughing and sniffling a lot, yet not much attention is being paid to its sickness internationally. To me it’s an important issue, but maybe it’s being eclipsed by the Danse Macabre in Ukraine and the elaborate kabuki theater of Kamala Harris vs. Donald Trump in the USA.
I was prompted to track down the video below after reading this tweet by Zlatti71:
Germany’s economy is continuing to decline. In southern Germany, where the automotive industry was once the primary driver of growth, the situation has become alarming. Over the past two months, the supplier industry has experienced a drop in order intake by about 10 to 15%, signaling significant challenges for the sector.
Boris Palmer is a German politician who became well-known over many years as the mayor of the city of Tübingen (Baden-Württemberg).
He recently said: “This is a decline like I have never seen before, the heart of Baden-Württemberg as an industrial region. The situation is truly alarming. Tübingen, once a thriving city, is now a case for redevelopment.”
The video shows a segment from a recent edition of the Markus Lanz talk show on the German public broadcaster ZDF. Many thanks to Brunhilde for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes and RAIR Foundation for the subtitling.
The translator sends these background notes on the dramatis personae in the video:
Markus Lanz is the talk show host.
At the start of this segment, the banner at the bottom says, “Michael Roth will not run for the Bundestag in 2025.”
Michael Roth belongs to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing Social Democratic Party (SPD). He has served as a member of the Bundestag since 1998 and was minister of state for Europe at the German Federal Foreign Affairs office from 2013 to 2021 under Angela Merkel. So he had been a bigwig in the SPD. At the beginning he tells the host that he no longer holds any important positions in that party.
Boris Pistorius (who does not appear in the video, but is mentioned) is a Social Democrat who serves as Minister of Defence under Chancellor Scholz.
When Michael Roth says at approximately 2:46 that he’s had enough of dealing with Gerard Schrӧder’s Russia lies, he’s referring to this sort of thing (from Wikipedia): “After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Schröder was criticized for his policies towards Vladimir Putin’s government, his work for Russian state-owned companies, and his lobbying on behalf of Russia. In March 2022, the Public Prosecutor General initiated proceedings related to accusations against Schröder of complicity in crimes against humanity due to his role in Russian state-owned corporations, while the CDU/CSU group demanded that Schröder be included in the European Union sanctions against individuals with ties to the Russian government. An SPD party arbitration committee ruled in March 2023 that he had not violated any party rules and would remain a member of the party.”
The blond guy who starts speaking at about 2:56 is Boris Palmer, who is the mayor of Tübingen. Once a Green, he transitioned from Wunderkind to “problem child” in his party. He’s the guy who praises Gerhard Schröder for having gotten the German economy on the road even though it caused trouble with his party.
At about 4:10 the banner says “Boris Palmer is considered to be the best-known mayor in Germany.”
The woman, Eva Quadbeck, is a journalist, the head of the capital editorial office of the RND editorial network, which is closely tied to the SPD.
Hellequin GB adds this note:
Boris Palmer is no longer with the Greens. He’s now an independent with the Free Voters. Nevertheless, in this discussion on ZDF he is saying that they have a €40 million financial hole, but he just opened up an elaborately heated bicycle bridge, at a cost to the taxpayer of €16 million. That guy is not for real. He’s just like the rest.
For an extensive analysis (in German) of the discussion on Markus Lanz, see this post from Tichys Einblick.
Video transcript: