Here’s a long but exceptionally interesting article about Deutschland:
What is currently grist for German nightmares may also turn out to be a genuine tragedy for the entirety of Europe, as well as the United States. For several decades, Germany was able to build strong domestic cohesion, a solid social welfare system, and limited income inequality on the back of a strong manufacturing sector and competitive exports. This kept unemployment low, wages stable, and politics bland. Their high quality of life often came at the expense of poorer members of the eurozone, but few Germans could argue with the result: the world’s fourth-largest economy and one of its most steady and apparently sane political societies.
But the last two years, and the last seven months in particular, have revealed this model to be something of a Ponzi scheme. The entire German system, it turns out, depended on a never-ending supply of cheap Russian gas, immaculate just-in-time Chinese supply chains, and ever-expanding foreign markets. No other country bet more on the end of history, and we all know how that turned out.
Oh, it’s not that bad. Call me when the fashion press reports Hugo Boss signing a contract for new uniforms – then we’ll know that things are bad.
You are on to something here.
Uniforms for whom? Like in Canada, there’s no German military. Most of the people in Germany volunteering for the army are neo-Nazis.
Germany on the edge of the abyss? Never….we’ll maybe a couple of times but that was a long time ago. They’re way smarter now.
Germany has cheap energy in the form of lots of coal, and could turn back on their nuke plants.
The question is whether the German Government has the political will to overcome their local Gang Greens (formerly a subsidiary of KGB), and to eventually fully decouple from the need to use Russian Gas?
I believe we all acknowledge that the entire planet needs some serious SUFFERING from the “green dividend”. Frozen corpses … empty bank accounts … and soup lines devoid of soup … before sanity is restored, and the global Warmists are dispatched as the FRAUDS they are. Yes, suffering is coming. Good and Hard … compliments of the eco-left.
“formerly a subsidiary of KGB”
Yep, currently a subsidiary of FSB. And then there are German politicians owned by Orgrimmar that consistently worked towards making Germany dependent on russian gas and Europe dependent on Germany. No wonder Human Centipede was about Germans, it was an allegory for Euro political life.
Even if they want to turn the nukes back on?
Do they have the Nuclear Fuel?
You replace 1/3 of the burnt out fuel every 1-1/2 years to 2 years.
It is very expensive, on the order of a half million dollars per fuel bundle.
They planned the nuke plant shutdowns years in advance. They used every fuel bundle up.
You might get half or two-thirds power out of one of those plants for a few months. Not much more.
They will not be restarting any of those plants until they refuel them.
Same as Canada in making everyone needing government papers(training) to work.
Licenses expire along with all that educational training.
Forced insurance that keep adjusting on everything you need to go to work or be in business.
It’s also a double edged sword that has prevented ‘mass immigration’ as housing costs are astromically high along with needing some government approval by certification or safety equipment which fine you crazily should you’re not in compliance.
Next year, Canada will be in this exact same boat as our politicians ain’t turning away from this disaster that could be avoided or changed.
Wait…you mean importing millions of unreconstructed Muslims AND shutting down all your nukes THEN depending on Russian petro THEN getting huffy about Ukraine BUT not actually doing anything…is a recipe for disaster.
No way.
The immigrants are Germany’s only hope.
Nope, there are many ways to deal with a declining population.
( not easy ways).
Bringing in millions that have zero loyalty to your homeland is not one of them.
Russia just offered to resume Nordstream 1 gas deliveries through still viable portion of Nordstream 2. Germany said Nien.
Protests will grow in Germany. Pushing people down only goes well for so long.
USA blowing up Nordstream is not helpful to German people. Deindustrializing Germany will wreck the EU.
Question is: will the politicians help the people or turn their back? If they keep turning their back, next move belongs to the people.
So nice of the orcs, but why oh why is it that they keep Yamal pipeline closed? Is it because it goes through Poland? Because Pootin refused to pay transit fees after Poland declined to extend contracts for more orc gas? You don’t need Nord Stream to send gas to Germany. Germans know it. Pootin know it. Neither want to talk about it. Why?
colon
You shouldn’t go full unDORK, the polacks shut that one down, and the one through Turkey is still pumping gas to europe.
Wrong, First Poland announced they will stop buying russian gas. So Pootin cut them off a few months earlier. No big deal, a toothless tantrum. Then Pootin shut down Yamal pipeline. He refused to pay transit fees to a Polish company managing the pipeline. Russian law put that company on the list of companies sanctioned by russia (yes there is such a thing). Works for Poland but it was russian not Polish decision. Haven’t seen German politicians protesting that…
P.S. As usual you don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.
The whole thing is the Great Reset.
They will implement the green transition. Therefore, Germany needs to be de-industrialized.
The German people? Most of them are a bunch of brainwashed imbeciles. After all that happened in the last few months, the Green Party remains popular in Germany. These idiots think that windmills will save them.
Support for decoupling from Russian fuel and support for Ukraine is still running at over 2/3 of the German population. Disapproval of Russia and the Russian government is equally high, tho not as high as in the former Soviet nations bordering Russia. (98% in Poland) Hard as it may be to understand (yes, I’m being sarcastic) a lot of Europeans are very tired of dealing with a Russia that would rather use energy as a bully-stick, than act as a good neighbour and good-faith trading partner.
There are a string of intellectuals predicting disaster, but it is hard to find anywhere for which they are *not* predicting disaster. There are always some chickens who insist that the sky is about to fall.
The reality is that people and nations are FLEXIBLE. They ADAPT as circumstances . Europeans are not sitting , freezing, because one source of energy has become more expensive. To quote one proverb from the colder latitudes… “There is no bad weather, only inadequate clothes”. Wearing “outdoor“ clothes Indoors may be a little inconvenient, but it’s not lethal.
But Europeans aren’t ‘adapting’ they’re just doubling down on the stupidest ideas of the post-Cold War era.
“There is no bad weather, only inadequate clothes”. Wearing “outdoor“ clothes Indoors may be a little inconvenient, but it’s not lethal.”
Such tautology is irrelevant to the fact that energy is the life blood of EVERY economy. So between the very real danger of depression, and the fact that cold is in fact lethal, Germany and the EU, and by extension the world has some very serious and deadly concerns.
I’m wondering why I should care.
Mental defectives seem to be in charge just about everywhere.
Germany, Russia, US, Canada, New Zealand, France…the list is huge.
Nationally. Locally.
Nobody sane is holding a lever.
When the N word comes out as much as it has recently its foolish to think you can get some of that toothpaste back in the tube.
The Great Reset may be washed by strontium 90 laced rainfall.
Fck the Germans and the Russians.
Exactly. The Spawn-Fuhrer has promised them some outrageously expensive hydrogen sometime in the next decade. What more do they want. If we sold them LNG, they would complain that we are ripping them off. They built it. They own it. The only memorable German export that comes our way is expensive high-end automobiles and arrogance.
WOW i think the same but am unable to express myself. thanx.
It would be nice to know better what is going on in Germany.
I have contacted a high school chum of mine; hopefully, his Ontario based self can help me to understand.
This author of this article is delirious. He has no clue.
“Germany’s two big contributions to Europe over the last 15 years have been the cult of fiscal austerity”
Look, this article has good points, but I stopped reading at this point. ‘Cult of fiscal austerity’ GTFO here. Ireland is the only EU state that came anywhere close to austerity (flat-lined spending for several years after the GFC) and surprise surprise they are about the most prosperous place in Europe.
The Chicken-Little-Sky-isFalling narrative is driven by one key assumption, that people have no agency. The assumption that human beings are mere economic units… pawns who have no say in how they are moved on the board, no responsibility for their lifestyle choices.
You will be comfortable with that IF you are afraid to take responsibility for your own life. IF you want to feel good about your own quiescence, by blaming external circumstances and people for your own failures.
That is the key assumption and key fallacy in this article. According to the author, Germans are only safe, comfortable and prosperous because “somebody else” created the conditions, supplied the gas or somehow did without. There is zero recognition that nations which prosper almost always do so because they have a motivated population, sound core values and a willingness to work bloody hard. The same things that create prosperity and comfort, are required to maintain it.
YOU may be a sheep, afraid that you live or die according to the wolf’s whim, but this world was not built by sheep. Sheep also panic and run from nothing. If you are in a panic, then the most suspect should be those who are manipulating you for their own benefit.
That would be the bottom edge.
Deutschland – nice country, just too many Germans.
Good thought. They do tend to be a collective hive. That alone is a positive and a negative depending on what side of the blade edge you are on.
Disagree. Germans are great people. The problem is that German elementary honesty (so reminiscent to Anglo Saxon honesty) allows them to be easily manipulated by their elites. German elites OTOH are among the most vile and manipulative in Europe.