Dieter Althaus

20 years after the fall of the Wall, the economic crisis prevails. In the ruined peripheral areas of West Germany, resentment towards the new federal states is growing. The consequences of decades of uncontrolled transfers from West to East are now clearly visible: while the zone has the highest density of water parks in Europe and the East German cities are being pimped out with designer street lighting, entire city archives are collapsing in the run-down West and weeds are sprouting up on the pothole-strewn streets. The times when Merkel was still locked away behind the Wall and the Federal Republic was in full bloom are long gone. The former people's parties SPD and CDU are just as incapable of acting as the fun party FDP, only Die PARTEI continues to gain popularity and now has over 8,200 members. Is it Germany's last resort?