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Article: Blossoming landscapes; Germany's depressed east.(Eastern Germany in search of recovery)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- May 26, 2007
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Is Germany's economic boom bypassing its eastern states?
"ONLY one person promised blossoming landscapes," says Peer Steinbruck. Looking proudly at Germany's booming economy, falling unemployment and bulging state coffers, the finance minister is trying to deflect objections that the five states of former East Germany have never enjoyed Helmut Kohl's 1990 pledge of economic nirvana. It takes a generation to help the new states to their feet, he says. Mr Steinbruck has no plan to change the "solidarity pact", under which western Germany will subsidise eastern Germany until 2019.
Almost 17 years after unification, the new states have at least made some ...