FW: GERMANY: Memories of the old East Germany

Steffen Meschkat, who lives in East Berlin, said that many East Germans long for the old socialist state in which the basics (a job, hosing, health care) were assured- Surprisingly, Christopher Jones, who longs for the old Kaiserreich, agrees: "Steffen Meschkat is correct. A couple of weeks ago in the regional elections in Thüringen, the PDS (Democratic Socialist Party) which is the successor to the old SED (Socialist Unity Party) that ruled East Germany until it collapsed, came in second to the CDU-CSU and way ahead of the ruling Socialist party (SPD) of Chancellor Schroeder. When asked why they had voted PDS, most interviewed responded that the party better understood the problems of the East and were more helpful. But we shouldn't kid ourselves: the PDS espouses communism as the solution to Germany's problems and it is riddled with ex-Stasi collaborators. At the root of their success is the collapse of the German welfare state as it was known and loved, and the squirming and scrambling of the politicians of the big parties to come up with answers, in particular for the citizens of the old DDR who were promised a "rosy future" at re-unification. The reforms introduced in the health system have created an atmosphere of bewilderment with the proviso that every citizen pay 10 Euros when he or she has to visit a doctor. A separate dental insurance is now being introduced as well. With the burden of debt growing at an astronomical pace, the only original idea to be put forward was CDU finance guru Friedrich Merz's modified flat tax, which I sincerely hope is introduced. Nobody and no nation on earth has ever asked a prosperous people to surrender a portion of the wealth, and that is just about the state of things in Germany. Yesterday Horst Köhler was sworn in as Federal President, but the real news was the refusal by Bavarian soccer team trainer Ottmar Hitzfeld to take over the job of Federal trainer for the national team after Rudi Völler resigned in disgust over Germany's poor showing in the European Championship cup currently underway in Portugal. In a way the plight of the team is the plight of Germany: too wealthy, too cumbersome, too old. Hitzfeld must have recognized that you cannot persuade multimillionaires to play aggressive soccer and refused the offer of 4 million euros a year". RH:Many countries have asked a prosperous people to surrender a portion of the wealth, e.g. the income tax and capital gains tax. The comment on soccer is an argument for amateur sports.