Question for the EuroTubbies

[VetLegion]

Originally posted by Ecthy


Is there supposed to be a point to this? Seriously, I'm not sure if that is a troll or not. You never know with Croats

It's a serious question. In Communism, the political culture was different. More prone to corruption, which is no wonder since there was only one party. More immoral, if you want. Few checks and balances, few controls, little responsability. So I'm wondering if any of that carried over.

I'm not saying Easties are more evil per se, don't worry

[snoopy369]

I think you should consider how unification in 1873 affected Germany's political culture

[Ecthy]

Vet... those "politicians" never entered this system. I know they did in Yugoslavia anyway.

[VetLegion]

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/apr2000/merk-a28.shtml

In her youth, Angela Merkel was an active member of the FDJ Stalinist youth organisation. After finishing high school she studied physics in Leipzig. From 1978 to 1990 she worked as a scientist for the Central Institute for Physical Chemistry at the East Berlin Academy of Sciences, and in 1986 she attained her doctorate.

There are no indications that she ever expressed any political opposition to the East German regime. If the GDR had not collapsed, she would have continued to exemplify a completely "normal, average East German biography" (in Merkel's own words).

?

[Ecthy]

Normal, average East German biography.

Do you honestly think everyone who felt ambitious in the GDR must be corrupt in the west?

[VetLegion]

I ask : "did any of that carry over..."

You reply: "do you think that everyone..."

We're not going anywhere.

[Ecthy]

The system died, why would anything carry over? Angie didn't carry over as a part of the FDJ. She did despie her past, not through it.

[Colonâ„¢]

Originally posted by Spiffor
Again, Gangerolf is right.

I disagree. The reunification was a huge step in the "normalization" of Germany. Since then the country has become increasingly more self-confident which had its impact on foreign policy.

[BeBMan]

Originally posted by VetLegion
I ask : "did any of that carry over..."

You reply: "do you think that everyone..."

We're not going anywhere.

FDJ as "Stalinist" youth organization is a bit rich IMO, the late GDR was rather post-Stalinist, like for example the pre-Gorbachev USSR.

re Political Culture, it should be noted that the PDS, as SED the former communist ruling party in East Germany played a important role especially in regional eastern German politics after 1990 and tries to transform itself now into a general leftist alternative to the social democrats. It remains to be seen wether can form a stable platform that can attract significantly more voters from the western part too which is crucial for success in the long run.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Colonâ„¢
I disagree. The reunification was a huge step in the "normalization" of Germany. Since then the country has become increasingly more self-confident which had its impact on foreign policy.

To me, the "normalization" of Germany has more to do with the generational change among leaders than with the reunification.

I don't feel that Kohl ever went in the direction of "normalization" during his reign, despite being the Big K of the reunification. It was Schröder who pushed for the "normalization" of Germany, and it wasn't all that easy at the time.

[Last Conformist]

Methinks the commie is right.

[Colonâ„¢]

I don't think you can distinguish cause and effect all that easily. Schroder, fischer and others were part of the post-WW2 generation, and raised to power after the cold war had ended. Part of the cold war and direct consequence of it was the separation of Germany. If the Wall hadn't fallen and the cold war hadn't ended it wouldn't have been all that easily to redirect Germany's foreign policy. It's more of a "the right man at the right time" thing.