SPRING AWAKENING

There is a lot to do in Germany in spring and anyone who owns a rental home knows that it takes work. Repairs, garden maintenance, caretaker services, someone has to do it and if they can speak German, that is certainly an advantage.

This is exactly what the father of our refugee family from Ukraine, to whom we provided an apartment in Brandenburg an der Havel around 2 years ago, could do. A job with responsibility, a regular job, a good salary and the beginning of integration, so a good idea, I thought. Until I found out that the man barely understands or speaks German. Mandatory language course? I’m not sure.

But I’m pretty sure that at least €50,000 in tax money went to the refugee family’s community of needs in the two years. That’s not new in itself, but personally committed and involved it feels different again. And not good at all, this one of probably tens of thousands of similar cases of delayed or failed integration in our country.

Billions of euros, a mismanaged or misused asylum system and the great humanitarian pathos that lures not only war refugees, but migrants from all over the world to Germany, sometimes with the help of mafia smuggling gangs. Once you’re here, you usually don’t have to leave or work anymore, because you can live on citizen’s money. No country in Europe pays so much money to asylum seekers. Why, I ask myself, do we do this?

Heinrich Heine comes to mind. Like no other before, the famous writer had looked deep into the German soul around 200 years ago and put what he saw there into words:
“In the airy realm of dreams we have undisputed dominance”
he said about the Germans in his “Winter’s Tale.”

That could be it, the naive dreams of saving the world, which we can no longer afford today. Exploding costs for the welfare state and the energy transition are already destabilizing the country, dividing the population and seriously threatening the prosperity that has been created over decades. Not only do they lead to indebtedness for future generations, they are pure destruction of money that is missing from our national security in view of the growing military threat in Eastern Europe. The Bundeswehr, which has been run down over many years, is now hardly capable of being used in defense situations.

With appeasement towards aggressors, false tolerance towards left-wing and Muslim anti-Semites, with free spirit at demonstrations against the right, reporting points for alleged crimes, diligent gendering and the firm belief in more than two genders, the country can definitely combat threats from outside and inside and in international competition no longer exist.

So? No more German life lies. Because we are of course not a country of ne’er-do-wells and guardians of virtue. When we look back at our traditions, the cultural treasures and achievements of our country, there are a few things that we can look back on with pride and that connect us as a nation. We have a lot to lose, but we can achieve a lot more. Self-confident, cosmopolitan and together with those who are there, who have accepted our values and want to achieve something in life. Who are hard-working, creative, socially minded, peaceful and nature-conscious. There is so much potential there.

But the state must return to its core tasks, ensuring the peaceful coexistence of citizens, protecting their basic rights, ensuring internal and external security and providing a functioning infrastructure and education. And he should remember that the best plan for preserving prosperity, democracy and freedom always remains one. The responsible citizen.

With that in mind, yours sincerely

Ernst-M. Ehrenkönig
CEO & Managing Partner