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30 years after reunification, living conditions in the East and the West are slowly converging. This is shown in the annual report on German unity. But there is still something to catch up on in some areas.
By Cecilia Reible, ARD capital studio
The cover image of the annual report on the state of German unity speaks for itself: the photo montage shows the facade of a house in Görlitz, Saxony. On the left you can see the state of the 80s: a ruin. To the right is the building after renovation and reconstruction – a gem.
Every year, usually shortly before October 3, the Eastern Commissioner of the Federal Government presents the annual report on the state of German unity. The current annual report is due today and is available at ARD capital study already before.
Much has been accomplished in the past 30 years, says Federal Government Commissioner for New Federal States Marco Wanderwitz. “Some things took longer than planned. But in many areas we can basically say: unity achieved, unity established, unity achieved.”
Wanderwitz sees success
From the CDU politician’s point of view, infrastructure in the new federal states has progressed particularly well: Wanderwitz sees roads, power grids, and hospitals on a western level. There has also been very good progress in aligning productivity, wage and pension levels, and earnings.
“Even if we are not 100 percent yet, but in the pension, for example, we are more than 97 percent,” he says. “And if you take into account where we came from in 1990, productivity was 37% and wages 50%. And now we are close to 100.”
Economic power increases
Economic power in the new federal states, including Berlin, is currently 79.1 percent. That’s a good four percentage points more than a year ago. According to the report, disposable household income in eastern Germany is 88.3 percent of the national average, an increase of around three percentage points compared to the previous year.
Sabine Zimmermann, a spokeswoman for labor market policy for the left-wing parliamentary group in the Bundestag, views the figures skeptically. Criticizes the even lower wage level in East Germany. “We still have 20 percent fewer full-time employees in East Germany. In view of these clear regional differences, it is not yet possible to assume that living conditions will be equivalent.”
Differences persist
Eastern Commissioner Wanderwitz also admits that some problems still exist. Such differences exist not only between East and West Germany, but also in urban and rural areas or in structurally strong and structurally weak regions.
In some areas, the east is also somewhat ahead of the west. Katrin Göring-Eckardt, leader of the Greens, sees some of the new states as role models. For example, many more women are employed. Also, there is better coverage with childcare. “Many West German women have rightly asked why this is really possible in the East and not here with us.” Goering-Eckardt thinks he should talk about it from time to time.
Not complete
Politicians are concerned about the lack of support for democracy and its institutions in East Germany. While 91 percent of people in the West consider democracy to be the best form of government, only 78 percent of those surveyed in the East see it that way. There are also differences in attitudes towards strangers or the distribution of far-right organizations. The annual report on the state of German unity says: Even after 30 years, the internal unity process is still not completely completed.
