Germany's Record Unemployment and Political Change

Reaching the 5 million unemployed mark had an immediate impact on Germany's national confidence. In a poll taken a couple of days after the unemployment figures were released, 85 percent of the Germans surveyed expressed concern for their personal future.

by Paul Kieffer

Germans are worried. Their country is one of at least four European Union member states where employment has exceeded the 10 percent rate.

According to February's unemployment statistics, for the first time since 1932 more than 5 million Germans are without a job. Those currently without a job aren't the only ones who are worried though. "The February figure will be significantly higher," Germany's labor and economic minister warned on Feb. 21 (Financial Times, Feb. 22, 2005).

Reaching the 5 million mark had an immediate impact on Germany's national confidence. In a poll taken a couple of days after the unemployment figures were released, 85 percent of the Germans surveyed expressed concern for their personal future. Every third German who still has a job is apprehensive that he will lose it.

In the eastern part of the country—formerly the nation of East Germany—50 percent of jobholders fear they will be laid off. Two out of three believe that the nation's unemployment rate will continue to rise.

Increasingly, there is a lack of confidence among the German people that their government will be able to turn the tide on unemployment. They are fearful over Germany's prolonged economic slump.

As a result, considerable pressure is on Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government. Part of it stems from the recent success of Germany's ultra-right NPD party (the National Democratic Party). The NPD has been around a long time. It made headlines as early as 1968 when it won and held seats in a German state legislature for one term.

Now, 36 years later, its former success has been repeated. The NPD won 12 seats in last fall's elections for the state legislature in the new state of Sachsen (Saxony) within what was formerly East Germany. The NPD garnered 9.2 percent of the votes cast, an increase of 7.8 percent in the five years since the last election.

Read the full article at www.wnponline.org/wnp/wnp0503/germanysrecord.htm

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