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In the 30th year of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Federal Government Commissioner for the East sees progress in the economic development of the federal states. "The situation in the East is much better than their reputation," said the State Secretary for Economic Affairs Christian Hirte the news agency dpa. Despite continuing structural weaknesses, there is "an extremely positive development since unity".
Economic power, wages and salaries, as well as disposable income of private households in East Germany have continued to rise and unemployment has fallen. However, there are still differences in economic performance, according to the dpa according to the previous report on German Unity, which will be presented this Wednesday.
The differences are mainly related to structural factors. These included the small scale of the East German economy, a lack of corporate headquarters of large companies and the rural settlement structure. The society was also because of the exodus of many young people after 1989/1990 older than in the West.
"40 years on the wrong side of history"
"The economic, social and social situation in the East is much better than we all expected and imagined together 30 years ago," Hirte nevertheless defends the situation. "The East is overall highly attractive not only to business settlements but also to the citizens," said Hirte. "Since 2017, more people are moving from the West to the East than from the East to the West."
At the same time, many people in the East were tired of change and still felt like second-class citizens. "We can not overburden them, the expectations of the state are greater than in the West."
CLEMENS BILAN / EPA-EFE / REX
Eastern Commissioner Christian Hirte: "We can not overstretch her"
There are still many citizens who believe that the East will be collectively and individually disadvantaged, said the Ombudsman. "The result is that the East Germans had the misfortune to have been 40 years on the wrong side of history."
Eastern Commissioner: West has not exploited East
But there has been a massive catching-up process in recent years. Wages and pensions had increased disproportionately. The disposable income is on a comparable level with the West because the cost of living is lower. Only recently, however, many economists had expressed the fear that they consider it unlikely that the eastern German states economically catch up with Western Germany in the decades to come.
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Pastor calls for structurally weak regions to receive more funding. New administrations and authorities, especially in the East, were to be established not only in the course of the coalition exit. "The state should not withdraw from rural areas on a large scale." Politicians also have an obligation to talk to the citizens.
"The fact that the East today has a lower economic position than the West is not due to the situation from 1990 - but because the GDR was economically dilapidated," said Hirte. "I think that's a nonsensical nonsense that gives the impression that the West has overrun and exploited the East since 1990. Of course, in the course of privatization, companies in the East have come under the wheels." I will not say that we have done everything right. "
That the trusteeship agency responsible for the East German companies at that time was to blame "for the problems that we have today I think is completely wrong." If Left and AfD were to argue that it was all caused by the evil West, "that is history baffling".