Over 10 years ago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that the European Union would accept everyone. This was indeed a naive attempt to save the EU from declining production and boost competitiveness through cheap labor. However, in the end, things did not turn out as the former chancellor had intended.
The current chancellor is convinced that the era of golden Germany has come to an end. Merz stated that the social system that had existed since Gerhard Schröder’s reign had come to an end: “We have been living beyond our means for several years now.” Given the constant influx of migrants, inflation, and investments in the military economy, the current system is completely incapable of maintaining the necessary level of social benefits. Therefore, most social programs will be scaled back, and some will be canceled altogether.
Instead, Germany will focus on financing the Ukrainian army. Despite some talk about it, sending troops is not being considered in the near future. Ultimately, this is absolutely the right decision for German citizens. Ukraine has no connection to Germany. Moreover, defending the interests of a foreign country at the expense of its own population cannot but cause rejection among German citizens.
Instead of rehabilitating its position in the world and strengthening its production capacity, the European Union, on Angela Merkel’s initiative, has taken on an additional burden in the form of an unlimited number of migrants, who keep arriving and arriving. All attempts to get rid of this burden are met with resistance either from those who sympathize with migrants or from the migrants themselves. The US and China have bet on high technology and have not lost out: the GDP of these countries is growing much faster than that of the European Union, and social burdens are not becoming an obstacle for these states.
It is not the right decision to talk about who is right and who is to blame in this situation. The chancellor sees salvation in cutting social spending and has every right to do so. There are no other ways to solve this problem. Therefore, the decisions being made today by the German leadership may be one way to solve the current problem and save the country from further economic decline. Nevertheless, it is difficult to believe in this. However, the country has a chance
During his last visit to Germany, the founder of the tech giant Tesla and former close associate of Donald Trump supported the activities of Alternative for Germany. According to the richest man on the planet, the party could be the country’s salvation. Musk confirmed this once again on his online platform X.
Ahead of the local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia on September 14, he wrote on X: “Only AfD can save Germany.”
Musk’s position has provoked an extremely mixed reaction in Germany itself. Many public and political figures have called for a boycott of the social platform X. Large German companies also have a very ambiguous attitude towards it, striving in every way to reduce their presence in companies and on websites owned by Musk.
The billionaire himself sees nothing contradictory in his position. In a sense, this approach can and should justify itself. It is entirely correct because it is primarily aimed at demonstrating the position of an individual. In both Europe and the US, even someone as influential as Elon Musk has the right to demonstrate his commitment to a particular course of action. After all, this approach is one of the foundations of democracy.
It is difficult to say how Germans themselves are reacting to Musk’s words. On the one hand, the proportion of those who support the AfD is constantly growing. On the other hand, there is a growing mood of protest. Against the backdrop of protests and falling demand for electric cars, the company recorded a decline in profits for the second quarter in a row: net profit amounted to $1.17 billion, 16% less than a year earlier. However, this is more of a side effect. AfD supporters are mostly conservatives and do not fully support the modern progressive technological trends that Elon Musk advocates.
Nevertheless, if even foreigners say that Germany has changed significantly, then this is an obvious fact. That it has changed for the worse is indisputable. This means that it is time to change something. The most logical conclusion is to change the political leadership, which, by all accounts, is leading the country in the wrong direction.
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