More cash, please
Why Germany’s east still wants more public money
WHEN Germany was unified in 1990, its ex-communist eastern part was promised an economic miracle to match that of the 1950s in the west. For a few years, it seemed to be happening. Yet now, despite a net transfer of maybe DM1,400 billion ($640 billion) in public cash, the region is falling behind again. And, with eyes increasingly focused on next year's general election—and the one-fifth of all Bundestag seats in the east—the government is being pressed, by friend and foe, to send even more billions eastward.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “More cash, please”
From the May 12th 2001 edition
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