Germany

Poor old Angela!

Poor my foot. She brought things on herself.

I have been hesitating to write about how other countries are going to see Germany in the future as they practcally run the EU, but now the thread is started about Germany, I dont see a reason to hold back.

It will be interesting to see how ' Mutti ' fares.

She will probably do OK as she is so entrenched as the De Facto Leader of the European Union the German people know their bread is perhaps better buttered to keep her in that position .

Will they, can they, vote for her on all things German related or will they vote as a country so focused on the desire for a Federal State of Europe they will want to keep her as the Leader of Europe.

She is a very powerful woman !

I've got old friends in Germany, and know how they feel about what is going on at present. Angela has been popular, but now......
Interesting to see the results of these elections.

She would have my vote. She is one of the world's most influential women and has managed to foster relationships with Obama, Cameron and Putin. I'm not sure how she might fare with Trump though!?

Her views were shaped by her background and ideology, and as POGS says, many Germans no doubt empathise with her and view her as their best bet in terms of the economy of the country and the Eurozone as a whole.

The big problem is the troubling major issue at home.

I have voted today and even if FR Merkel is not damaged then her time is surely coming to an end but she has being backed up by some powerful women and one will eventually take her place.
obieone if you rejoice finally to have a thread to say what you thnk about Germany all I can say is try coming here and seeing what its like. Its a lovely country to live in. Its 2016! Its different place to 1939.

The 'old' East Germany still has its disapppointed men and women who are now moving right and against the refugees etc. A lot of them are German-Russian and are fed on Putins propaganda. he would love the EU to break up or to see Germany go under. but its not going to happan.

I live here and never heard Fr Merkel give an open invitation to all who want to come, it was in a private interview, because she has a warm heart and can't bear that these people should be homeless when Germany can afford to care for them. I suppose she also feels near to tears when she sees pictures in the evening news of those families camping out in the cold with their children. But the borders are now closed. Fr Merkel was not able to prevent it. Its a human tragedy and definitely not her fault.

So nothing at all to do with the fact that Germany has an ageing population and needs young people?!

As I see it, the peoples of the countries that make up the EU are diametrically different, with different languages, different ideas and certainly, as the migrant crisis has proved, very different attitudes. One size simply doesn't fit all, it never could and never will. Let's face it, one country will always inevitably have sway over the others, and that country is Germany. Smaller, poorer countries just have to tow the line, which in turn leads to resentment. As a nation, history has proved that the UK isn't very good at 'towing the line', so perhaps not only are we better away from Europe and it's union, perhaps the union is better away from us!

Of course it is, roses. A friend of ours went out recently to visit the former East German town where his mother was brought up. It was virtually a ghost town, with boarded up businesses and homes. That's the sort of place Frau Merkel was hoping to regenerate.. She may well have a warm heart, but she has a good business head on her.

MargaretX how good to get an opinion about Germany from someone experiencing country first hand, but I can't think Fr Merkel was purely motivated by compassion when she encouraged refugees. However I admire the way the Germans have received them with such humanity. There are many well educated professional refugees particularly from Syria who will probably prove a great asset to the country.

nigglynellie, I think you'll find that the UK has a very good record of toeing the line with regard to EU directives! We are probably the most obedient member state...

Leaving the less well educated, unprofessional, less of an asset for other countrys!!! No surprise there!!!

Yes I think your right Ana, we are basically a law abiding nation particularly compared to others, which could be why a lot of us are suddenly sick of it, and the only way to escape it is to say 'goodbye to the circus', sooner than having to continually try to fight our corner, and abide by rules we clearly hate, when others so blatently don't!

Nigglynellie. I didn't mean to imply that only the better educated refugees will be a useful asset to their host country but goodness knows we could do with a few here, particularly doctors.

Margaret X

" I live here and have never heard Fr Merkle give an open invitation to all who want to come, it was in a private interview'

We have 'locked horns' before over Germany's immigration policy on other threads and I thought twice about responding to one of your posts once again but I cannot let your comment Fr Merkle has made her views known only in 'a private interview' pass without commentating. There was / is far too much coverage of Fr Merkle on British TV alone to think that was even remotely possible. Absurd. We have had the opportunity to watch her speak for ourselves.

We might not live in Germany but we are well informed of the problems facing Germany and no not just by the right wing press before that tired old clap trap is used .

Cologne, Pergida riots, Camden, Troglitz etc. all reported . From a German paper, Spiegal :- 'The Federal Government reported there had been 150 crimes directed at German Asylum Seeker Hostels in 2014, 3 times higher than the year before. The crimes range from sedition to attacks with weapons and incendiary objects. ( They are being torched.)

POGS. Thank you for that, I thought I had dreamt it when I read that about Merkel. I don't think some people realise what we read in relation to what's going on in Germany.
Sounds like some people are of the ilk of, close your eyes and ears and it will go away. Well it's not, and judging by the results coming out of Germany tonight people are having their say in the only way they can, the ballot box.

www.spiegel.de/international/germany/refugee-policy-of-chancellor-merkel-divides-europe-a-1053603.html

because she has a warm heart and can't bear that these people should be homeless when Germany can afford to care for them.
I apologise for being cynical, but I agree with rosesarered when she says that Germany has an ageing population and needs young people.

It needs young workers, who will pay taxes. Not a soft heart - a politician through and through. Not that that is a criticism, although DH's friend has a German wife and many relatives still in Germany who are critical of Frau Merkel.
Seeing the results that have come in, they are not alone.

Obieone. Thanks for that. I liked the quote: Those who bear the responsibility of being government like we do have a different role. We have to provide the people with answers and solutions.
That answer and solution was: ok, we've got enough now, your upsetting people, go back to where you came from.
I think I could have come up with that one on the back of a fag packet.

It comes down to that simple saying: enough is enough. No one knows what is 'enough' but they know when it comes.

Well she got a bit of a bloody nose in the elections but it obviously didn't hurt as she's said she will carry on with the same policy.

Whilst it appears there are many German people who have sympathy for the refugees and have tried to help, there is also a very worrying movement towards the AfD which refers constantly to the "Fatherland" and whose leader's speeches have been likened to those of Goebbels. A black Catholic priest has gone into hiding after receiving abuse and death threats following a speech he made in support of the refugees, including being told to "get off to Auschwitz".

This isn't just about Germany - we have people with similar views in this country who feign fear and concern but who secretly enjoy the opportunity to spread hatred and alarm.

If I couldn't live in the UK, Germany is the only country in which I would want to live.

You should always listen to the majority and most Germans have had enough.