03-01 Germany

It was interesting to have the German delegate on the governing body of the International Small Business Congress call me Mr. Bulloch whereas every other delegate called me by my first name. And there was never any small talk between us. It was all business.
Germany, as I discovered, like Japan or Italy was a society with a distinct culture. So, no one should be surprised that the wave of immigrants from places like Algeria, Morocco and Libya, welcomed by Germany, should create a culture shock. The photo shows illegal immigrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea and arriving first in Spain, but then travelling on to Germany.
These immigrants are for the most part Muslim, and once settled in their new country like to procreate. This is good and bad, depending on your point of view. On the good side, the younger immigrants are needed to pay taxes to support the German welfare state. But on the bad side, massive immigration from North Africa is seen as threatening the people’s sense of what it means to be German.
The immigration backlash has political consequences in Germany yes, but also in the neighbouring nations of Sweden, France, Italy and Hungary. The right-wing party in German is called the Alternative for Deutschland and has secured 90 seats in the 700 plus parliament.
What is interesting about right wing parties springing up in Europe is the similarity of their agendas. They are all against immigration, you know, those “brown” people. And they all consider climate change a “hoax”. Sounds like President Trump in the US.
My personal view is that Germany has done the right thing in encouraging immigration. They refuse to fall into the economic death trap created by shrinking populations. This is the nightmare facing nations like Japan, Russia and most of Europe.
Fortunately, Germany’s political leadership know that immigrants are tough and determined and will adapt and become societal givers and not takers. This is the experience of most of the developed world where immigrants out-perform the home-grown population in every economic category.
I am very fond of Germany and the German culture. My feelings are the result of working with German political leaders, and visiting so many of Germany’s famous cities. A recent river cruise included a stop in the ancient city of Regensburg on the river Danube. Loved those cathedrals and pubs.
It should be no surprise that a society that is so organized, so disciplined and so hard working should have one of the best educational and apprenticeship systems in the world. As a nation they focus on building strong medium-sized companies that are export oriented. And Germany is the second largest exporting nation in the world.