Luke Harding

DW-WORLD: How is Germany doing in your opinion?

Luke Harding: Germany is actually doing better than it thinks it is. The mood is so incredibly depressed. It's almost like Germany thinks it's Bangladesh. But Germany is and remains a big prosperous country with a marvelous infrastructure. Sometimes I really just feel like telling my German friends: "Stop moaning!!" On the other hand, it is true that Germany has structural problems. High levels of unemployment is one of the most pressing ones. The country has never been through an era of "Thatcherism" -- something which helped the UK reform its labor market. I think a real problem is this cultural pessimism -- and I don't understand why this is. It seems like Germans are only happy when they are not happy. It must be something in the German psyche.

What needs to happen in Germany to help speed up the country's recovery?

What Germany needs is a big, fat dose of neo-liberalism. I think a cultural shift is needed towards US/UK practices as far as the question of getting a job is concerned. I am not advocating hire and fire, but there is a need for greater flexibility and people have to realize that, yes, they have to do 5 or 6 jobs in a lifetime.

Schröder or Merkel? Who is your personal choice for chancellor? Why?

That's difficult. Merkel's economic reforms -- the initiatives on loosening the work protection laws, taxation etc -- seem right. Then again, Merkel is a deeply boring figure, and running an election campaign mainly on the pledge to up VAT by two percent is not helping. My feeling is that Merkel's Germany is going to be a very gray place. Schröder in contrast is very colorful. He's the kind of guy you could sit down and have a beer with. Journalists like him. But on virtually every other count he has failed. Unlike Britain's Tony Blair he hasn't managed to convince his own party that his course is right. So, I am not overly keen on either of the two, but then what I think doesn't matter anyway, because Germany will get Merkel.

What do you like about Germany?

I have known Germany for quite some time. I first got here at age ten and then in my early teens I spent most summers with a really nice exchange family in Cologne. What I like about the country is that it works. When I go to other places --like India -- I make sure my Siemens washing machine or my Miele hoover is with me. The public transport is marvelous, the German people are very friendly. It's a country to bring up kids in -- as I do. I have two young children, who attend an English school, but they also learn German.

What do you dislike about Germany?

All the rules! Everything seems to be "nicht gestattet" (not allowed) or "verboten" (prohibited). It is a bit frustrating -- especially after I had just been to India. Oh yes, and in Berlin, where I live, there are these old ladies who keep telling off my kids, who actually do behave quite reasonably. It makes you wonder whether Germany is ruled by old people -- gerontocratic, so to say. So the message is clear then: "Less money and less power to pensioners!"