Volkswagen's Implosion Is The Real Story Coming Out Of Germany…
Not the electoral gains of a fringe party….
The last six days, truly, was the week that was in Germany.
And no, this isn’t satire.
You will have read here and elsewhere about the gains made by Germany’s far right party —Alternative Fur Deutschland — which has sent tremors to the heart of Europe’s political establishment.
But what if I told you that this isn’t necessarily Germany’s biggest headache?
Seriously?
Yes.
The west has been left flat-footed by China’s dynamism and this sad state of affairs is much more acute in Europe than anywhere else.
The United States of America, which is unaccustomed to being out-competed, has responded with tariffs and tough words, while Europe’s largest economy has simply failed to rise to the challenge of staying relevant in the 21st century.
Back when I was a kid in the 1980s, German industry had a fearsome reputation. Unlike the United Kingdom which won the war but lost its empire and much else, Deutschland emerged from the ashes of defeat to successfully reinvent itself.
And key to this was its automobile industry.