Strikes: annoying, but no drama

When it comes to Germany and its trains, there's quite a bit to say. For older generations, it was all about model trains: putting the locomotives on the track, setting the course and guiding them with a controller through a miniature world. It brought one's inner child to life - setting up a world according to your own rules. This interest in the world of miniature trains was a core passion for Germans of the post-war generation.

Their younger counterparts saw the children's storybook stars Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver as everyday heroes and role models. In short: a well-functioning train system is, for us Germans, part of our DNA.

Reliability!

There's a reason why we still talk about the proverbial punctuality of our rail system - even if that has long since become mere legend. It used to be reliable and even had an air of authority, with its state-paid conductors in their smart uniforms. Lenin was once supposed to have said that even revolutionaries in Germany thought twice about occupying a train station without getting a ticket first. Understanding Germany means understanding the relationship between Germans and their trains. A strike - much less the longest strike in the history of the country's rail system - is therefore an exceptional business. You could call it a derailment.

It's a derailment for which Germans have little understanding. That's no surprise, because this contractual conflict between the rail operator Deutsche Bahn and the train driver union GDL has long ceased to be about the salaries and working conditions. If that were the case, most Germans would have shown more sympathy. Instead, this is solely a power struggle between various unions. The small GDL, with around 34,000 members, wants to extend its reach to include other occupational groups. In doing so, the GDL is taking German commuters hostage - as well as the businesses that depend on the reliable delivery of goods. That is annoying, particularly since it is happening for the sixth time within a few months.

Strike-free zone

On the other hand, what exactly does "the longest strike in the history of German rail" mean? We're talking about four days! The alarm on social networks and the sensationalist media headlines about "chaos" and a "paralyzed Germany" can be explained solely by the fact that strikes occur here about as often as snowfall in the summer. Germany is the embodiment of a low-strike zone. Europe's labor disputes usually play out in Greece, Italy, France, and Spain - particularly since the outbreak of the global financial crisis in 2008. In the UK, the whole of the 1970s were an era of permanent labor struggles.

Germany, on the other hand, has generally maintained a social balance. Usually a solution can be reached among the parties, and strikes are a last resort. In light of this, talk of the chaotic circumstances of the train drivers' strike is paranoid. Even in this labor argument, the rules of the game are clear: a punctual announcement of the strike and back-up plans from the rail company. Even if most of the trains will once again be stuck in the holding area, we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that four days of cancellations is an annoyance but not a major drama. And for those who absolutely have to travel, it should be possible to find alternatives in a country whose 80 million residents own 44 million cars.

Union boss - the new public enemy

The conflict Deutsche Bahn and the train drivers' union will eventually be solved, like all the others before it. Option 1: at some point the losses incurred by the strikes will become too great for DB and they will give in. Option 2: The union gives in when their strike reserves run out or they lose all their public sympathy. It's a question of what happens first. At the moment, the second looks more likely, as public confidence is visibly draining away. With Germany preparing to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, union boss Claus Weselsky is being portrayed as the new public enemy. What can Weselsky, of East German origins, do in the face of all that unity?