Germany Reclaims Its Debts

The 34th anniversary of German reunification was marked by vibrant concerts, ambitious political speeches, and controversial local election results. In reality, Germany is not only celebrating the return to a unified state after 41 years of separation but is also deeply immersed in solving pressing issues. All of this is happening against the backdrop of hybrid attacks from Russia. Additionally, Germany is under pressure from aggressive exports of cars and other goods from China. The industry is suffering, and so is the economy as a whole. In fact, Germany now has one of the worst economic dynamics among EU countries. Germany is responding to these challenges and reclaiming its debts from previous years of overly relaxed existence.

The celebration of German Unity Day is a special moment to reflect on the four decades of Eastern lands under Moscow’s control. There is also much to remember about the following 34 years. The levelling up of the eastern lands to match the western regions is far from complete, no matter what Chancellor Olaf Scholz said during the German Unity Day celebrations about the flourishing of the east.

Yes, Germany remains and will continue to be a powerful economic engine for the European Union. No, life in Germany is far from cloudless. Even Berlin itself has not fully embraced its status as the capital of a united Germany. The scars from the Soviet period in East Berlin remain deeply etched, and even West Berlin did not develop under the best conditions. In the last 20 years of the Soviet bloc's existence, West Berlin no longer felt the same pressure as in the 1960s. However, it still could not develop normally, as it was surrounded by the GDR.

Massive investments in infrastructure and efforts to stimulate development in the eastern states were supposed to bring the eastern and western lands into balance. But these investments from the national budget have caused significant irritation in the western regions. And let’s be honest: the years spent under Soviet ideology would have had negative consequences for any nation, even one with a strong work ethic.

Of course, a generation has passed in the eastern lands since reunification, but the rust of mutual distrust has not been entirely removed. These quite noticeable tensions between the east and west are a fact that German politicians must take into account.

To overcome these challenges, trust is needed between different parts of the country, between voters and politicians, between Berlin and other capitals. The 34th anniversary of German reunification is a good occasion to strengthen this trust. Historians often recall that trust between the leaders of West Germany, the USA, and the USSR—Helmut Kohl, George Bush Sr., and Mikhail Gorbachev—was perhaps the most powerful factor contributing to reunification. The subsequent years did not see the same degree of trust between eastern and western states.

But let’s return to the present.

Radical Sentiments Arising from Economic Problems

German society received a worrying signal when the results of recent elections in Thuringia and Saxony were announced. These are the very regions that were part of the former German Democratic Republic, i.e., the eastern lands.

In Saxony, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party made significant gains. It garnered 31.9% of the vote in the September elections, compared to 27.5% in 2019. In the 2024 elections, AfD even overtook the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), which received 30.6%, down from 32.1% in the previous election. The far-left BSW party, a newcomer, came in third with 11.8% of the vote.

In Thuringia, AfD secured 32.8%, up from 23.4% in 2019. The CDU/CSU saw a decrease, gaining 21.7% compared to 23.6% in 2019. The far-left BSW, with 15.8%, also made a strong debut, taking third place in Thuringia as well.

Brandenburg, another region formerly part of the GDR, showed slightly different results. In the 22 September elections, Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) maintained first place with 30.9%, up from 27.2% in 2019. However, AfD also saw significant gains, with 29.2%, up from 23.5% in 2019. The BSW, participating in regional elections for the first time, had an impressive debut with 13.5%. The CDU, meanwhile, lost ground, dropping to 12.1% from 15.6%. The results were catastrophic for the Greens, who fell to 4.1% from 10.8%, and for the Left Party (Die Linke), which fell to 3.0% from 10.7%.

Next year, at the end of September 2025, elections to the Bundestag (Germany’s federal parliament) are scheduled. The current situation in regional elections speaks volumes. However, the March 2025 elections for the Hamburg City Council—the two-million-strong city that is Germany’s second-largest and the sixth-largest in the EU—may also provide important insights.

Putin spent his early years in the KGB stationed in the pro-Soviet GDR. For him, launching hybrid attacks against Germany is like returning to the days of his youth.

What do these numbers tell us? They reflect a difficult economic situation and the threats felt by the average voter, particularly regarding the influx of migrants, especially illegal migrants. The population is frustrated with the unwillingness of many migrants to integrate and adopt the German way of life, which values hard work, paying taxes, and abiding by the law.

One way or another, the government needs to address these societal demands. And it is doing so.

The Government is Putting Out Fires with Money

High social spending has increased even further under the dominance of the Social Democrats and socialists. This has weakened Germany’s defence capabilities. Now, the government is left scratching its head, surprised by empty arsenals and the shutdown of nuclear power plants. Indeed, nuclear power plants are a factor of security and defence. Everyone in Germany remembers the dreadful autumn of 2022, with the consequences of disrupted gas supply chains and a long period of calm that affected wind power stations. It was actually amid of the shutdown of nuclear power plants.

But it turned out that the Russians, with whom it was so convenient and profitable to do “business as usual,” are now attacking Ukraine. And behind Ukraine lies NATO's eastern flank. It’s not just Ukraine that the Russians are attacking. Their hybrid assaults on EU countries, especially Germany, include cyber intrusions, sabotage of defence enterprises, interference in political processes and elections, and even espionage using aerial drones.

One of the factors of hybrid attacks is manipulating migration processes, even provoking and distorting them. In 2015-2016, Russia skilfully provoked an influx of Middle Eastern migrants. These people have not fully integrated into local society.

The government is forced to take these problems seriously. It is responding firmly, from calls on EU neighbours to more equitably share the financial burden of receiving refugees to reintroducing previously abolished border checkpoints along Germany’s borders.

The celebrations provide a fitting occasion to discuss these issues, at least through subtle hints, but to discuss them nonetheless.