Those Ugly Germans

Germany is suffering an acute PR problem. And we are not talking only of the one triggered by VW’s emissions shenanigans. No matter what the issue, Germany, in the eyes of many, is permanently showing its ugly side. Even a harmless piece of research output can draw irate responses.

A recent article on a scientific paper that used genetic differences as a proxy for cultural differences, arguing that the more culturally distant the immigrant, the more highly skilled she was likely to be, elicited the following feedback from Belgium: “genetic distance in place of the racial previously in Nazi's time. For me, you're in the right direction, straight to another genocide.”

Or the accusation by French politician Marine Le Pen, in view of Germany’s welcoming attitude towards the refugees arriving at its soil, that the country was “probably seeking to lower wages and continue to recruit slaves through mass immigration”.

Or the ubiquitous depiction of Germany as Greece’s tormentor during the euro crisis, despite the fact that austerity was actually imposed by the markets, when they decided to steer clear of Greece, not by Germany or any other country, and that Germany has contributed by far the most money to palliate it.

Even Germany’s 7-1 trouncing of host Brazil at the latest World Football Cup prompted the headline “Man vs. Machine”, reducing the German players’ prowess to soulless robotic precision.

Clearly, Germany is adept at producing impressive machines, four-wheeled or two-legged, but rotten at projecting an impressive image. (Or producing impressive bankers, for that matter. But that’s another story.)

Let’s start with the euro crisis. True, Germany has been reluctant to agree to further rescue packages for Greece, demanding tough conditions to be imposed before coughing up. Given the parlous state of Greece’s economy, this appears stingy and cold-hearted. But the criticism that Germany’s stance has provoked would have been justified if it had held it back in 2010, when the first Greece package was being discussed. Now, with Greece having dismally failed to implement the reforms it agreed to at that time, opting instead to ditch them altogether when an inexperienced politician promised the electorate a painless climb out of the hole, Germany is right to be wary.

And it’s worth keeping a couple of details in mind. Germany’s average salary is around 32,000 euros per year. It has been sending one such salary Greece-ward per minute, every day and night, every month, for five years in a row, to keep the country in the Eurozone. With the new package agreed now, it will continue to do so for many years to come. And yet even Joschka Fischer, Germany’s former foreign minister whose level-headedness has increased over the years, comments that his country’s attitude signals nothing else but the return of the ugly German, joining the likes of George Soros, who among other things both fears an imperialistic Germany and asks it to lead more (or leave).

Or Germany’s attitude towards refugees. Over a single weekend, the city of Munich alone has received more refugees than France has agreed to accept over two years (24,000), and the UK over five years (20,000). And while there has been a spate of xenophobic attacks against refugee facilities of late, the predominant attitude among the population is still overwhelmingly generous, even in the face of a likely onrush of some 800,000 asylum-seekers this year—or after some sports facilities in schools have been turned into refugee dormitories. Even the anti-Muslin Pegida movement has dwindled to nothingness over the past several months, while the Eurosceptic Alternative for Germany party had the good grace to implode the moment it swerved too far to a xenophobic right.

And still Germany gets a bad press. It was Germany that “destroyed” the Schengen Agreement, even though some other heavyweights had been doing their bit in this regard before: witness France on its border with Italy. And Germany is by far not following the example of Hungary’s Iron Curtain: Germany is not closing the border, but merely instituting controls to stem refugee trafficking and have refugees properly registered upon entering the country.

So, it appears that everyone is all too ready to divine dark intentions lurking in German souls and minds, Germans seething and just waiting for a chance to pounce. When actually, in view of the never-ending drain on their wallets for rescue operations and the massive influx of refugees, the wonder is that they are being so patient. As we said above, not even the protest movements survive long around here.

Talking from experience, your editor can attest that Germans are far more welcoming to foreigners than usually assumed. Your editor was not born in Germany and looks anything but German, and yet he was extremely well received and has been given opportunities that Chile, his country of origin, however well developed nowadays, never offered. The CESifo team comprises people from South Africa, Russia, Ireland, Austria and yours truly, and only two Germans.

Perhaps it all comes down to a less-than-sleek PR, or a woefully incompetent use of soft power. So, with Germans permanently getting bad marks for good deeds, they didn’t need Volkswagen’s emissions cheating to add bad deeds into the mix. In terms of projecting a bad image, Germans were doing pretty well as it was, thank you very much.