A short video recently made the rounds on X (formerly Twitter). A young female golfer was told off-screen how to play golf. The off-screen “mansplainer” knew exactly what she was doing wrong. The golfer remained calm and played a tee shot that was more than perfect – no mean feat, she was on the PGA Tour and therefore a professional. Of course, the mansplainer didn’t know that.
Germany and the rest of the world
This example illustrates the German attitude (Mansplainer) towards the rest of the world (female golfer). We don’t want to get bogged down here with the usual traffic light coalition’s scolding that repeats the disastrous economic policy of the Germans. That is pointless, and the latest developments are self-explanatory.
In recent months, several German heavyweights have declared they will go abroad. The reasons are the bureaucracy, the energy policy, and thus the industrial electricity prices, and, of course, the dilapidated infrastructure. Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Miehle, and BASF are just a few examples – the tool manufacturer STIHL even wants to disappear to expensive Switzerland, which says a lot about how bad things are in Germany.
Economics Minister Habeck sees the signs of the times, even feels “surrounded by reality,” and is basically only present in public by announcing measures with nice-sounding marketing names but are completely hollow in terms of content.
But the problem lies deeper
Unfortunately, the problem lies much deeper. The Germans themselves are vehemently standing in the way. The government is a perfect illustration of this. The example of Tesla and Grünheide illustrates this quite clearly.
Although the Musk company has built the factory in record time and, thanks to the political support of the state government, has created a haven of prosperity, the many interest groups around Grünheide continue to fight against the electric car factory.
The Americans have just been made aware of this when a referendum resulted in a 70% vote AGAINST the expansion of the Grünheide plant. Various environmental groups, including the activists from “Ende Gelände”, cheered.
Although the referendum is not binding, delays are inevitable. What’s more, Teslarati and electromobility fans worldwide – not just in Germany – are shaking their heads.
The “victory” of the Degrowthers is thought-provoking, as the expansion was about a freight station that would make 1,000 truck journeys a day unnecessary and enable more frequent regional train stops.
In addition, a daycare center is to be built and the cleared monocultural forest is to be replaced elsewhere by an ecologically better mixed forest.
The objections of the opponents are the same objections that were already on the agenda when the plant was initially built: the clearing of the forest, which in fact only played a role as a commercial forest, the allegedly excessive water consumption in the area (which is actually far below the announced consumption), as well as an increase in traffic due to the 12,000 jobs created in an economically weak environment.
The triumph of the NIMBYs
The NIMBYs are now triumphing over a wide area in Germany. There are citizens’ initiatives against the rail feeder line for the gigantic Brenner Tunnel, which will probably be completed decades earlier than two lousy rail lines in Bavaria. There is a wind farm, also in Bavaria, which the citizens rejected. A high-voltage power line was supposed to run from north to south and will probably never be built, thanks to the unmanageable objections.
Germany is well on the way to becoming a country in which vested interests paralyze or even destroy any progress and modernization. The government, to repeat, is the official and political parallel to this mentality.
So, is degrowth deeply rooted in the German population? The answer to this question could be unsettling.
