Where (almost) everything is regulated
One of the many aspects of living abroad is, you get a different perspective of your own country. At least once a year, I return to Germany from the Philippines for my annual home leave.
Many things strike me in Germany: Coming from Manila, among the more obvious are the general affluence, the quality of the infrastructure (and the automobiles using it) and also an increasingly apparent diversity of the population due to the many immigrants from foreign lands settling in. At the same time, and this is particularly conspicious for someone coming from the Philippines: mainly old people populate the public spaces, and only very few children are seen in the streets.
Probably the most astonishing feature of life in Germany is that there seems to exist a rule or regulation for more or less everything. These days, the political class is discussing how best to enhance the allegiance of foreigners who opt for German cititizenship; also high on the political agenda is the future of public medical insurance. Coming from the Philippines, the technocratic detail with which politicians of all shades and colors engage in their publicized debates is absolutely mind boggling.
Most of the political discussions are related to the reform of the welfare system. All political parties agree that this is not sustainable financially. Consequently, new rules and regulations are proposed to replace the old ones.
Of all the major political forces, only the liberal party (or F.D.P.) is pushing for a radical strategy of deregulation. In a way, this strategy comes along as rather “un-German.” It is, therefore, no surprise that the liberal blueprint is anathema to a majority of the voting population. At the same time, more and more Germans seem to agree that only drastic deregulation will prevent Europe’s leading economic power from losing to more dynamic societies in the ongoing global battle for economic success - and survival.
Technorati Tags: germany, deregulation, F.D.P.
