politics – understand-culture

‘We are in a gas crisis.’ Germany raises emergency level.

New York Times. June 2022. Germany’s economy minister triggered the second stage of a contingency plan a week after Russia cut back on gas to Europe, sending prices soaring and raising fears of shortages.

Germany warned residents and businesses on Thursday that the country was in a natural gas crisis that could worsen in coming months.

“The situation is serious, and winter will come,” Robert Habeck, Germany’s economy minister, told reporters at a news conference in Berlin. He said the government had triggered the second stage of its three-step energy gas plan; the next stage would permit the government to begin gas rationing.

“Even if you don’t feel it yet: We are in a gas crisis,” he said. “Gas is a scarce commodity from now on. Prices are already high, and we have to be prepared for further increases. This will affect industrial production and become a big burden for many consumers.”

“Firms will go bust”

The Guardian. April 2022. Firms will go bust’: Germany prepares for a future without Russian gas.

In Germany, they call it “Day X”. Businesses up and down the land are making contingency plans for what is seen as a growing likelihood that Russian gas will stop flowing into Europe’s biggest economy.

“It would be a disaster – one which would have seemed almost unthinkable just two months ago, but which right now feels like a very realistic prospect,” the owner of a hi-tech mechanical engineering company in western Germany said. The firm produces everything from battery cases for electric cars to train clutch systems.

The speaker did not want to be named, or for his company to be identified, in part for fear, he said, of appearing to support Russia’s war by making the case that if the gas is turned off, his century-old business “will likely not survive”.

But he says he is in a deep quandary and feeling very vulnerable, as he is not only heavily reliant on gas – the cost of which has already soared – but also on metals such as nickel and aluminium, much of which comes from Russia.

The German approach to emergency/disaster management

Disaster control and disaster relief in Germany are public tasks. The German system is based on the principle of subsidiarity between official and private institutions. A lot of official and private relief organisations are responsible for the execution of disaster relief tasks.

In Germany the following organisations exist: Official (GO): Technisches Hilfswerk (THW/Federal Technical Support Service), Feuerwehren (Fire Brigades/professionals and volunteers) Academie of Emergency Planning and Civil Defense Private (NGO): Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschland (ASB/Workers’ Samaritan Association Germany), Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbruchiger (DGzRS, German Lifesaving Association), Deutsches Rotes Kreuz (DRK/German Red Cross), Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe (JUH/St. John’s Ambulance), Malteser Hilfsdienst (MEID/Maltese-Relief-Organisation).

The German constitution allows to call the federal army in case of disaster, to support the disaster relief organisations (for example: flood Oder River 1997, train-crash “ICE” 1998). In all counties and district free cities disaster control staffs are set up by the administration.

Germany’s nationwide emergency warning day hitches

September 2020. For the first time in almost 30 years, Germany carried out a nationwide emergency warning day. But not everything went as planned. For those living in or visiting Germany on Thursday, things got loud this morning.

At 11 a.m. sharp (0900 GMT) Germany carried out a nationwide test of its civil alarm systems — with everything from sirens to push notifications on smartphones being tested. The test was slated to run for exactly 20 minutes. It’s the first test of its kind since Germany was reunified in 1991.

How Germany’s disaster management system works

July 2021. Deutsche Welle. Unlike many other countries, Germany’s civil protection and disaster management system is deeply rooted in communal and municipal structures. The current flood catastrophe has disclosed major shortcomings.

When the first floods hit southwestern Germany last week, local emergency managers were the first to initiate rescue operations on the ground. But it would soon become apparent that the unfolding natural disaster was more than what they could cope with, and that responses would have to be coordinated at a higher level in the emergency chain of command.

It was high time the crisis managers of the affected counties and municipalities took over, coordinating assignments of police, firefighters and paramedics to help save lives and provide assistance where needed.

Germany has a total of 294 counties and 107 self-governing municipalities, including major cities such as Potsdam, Cologne and Leipzig. In big emergencies, county governors can request assistance from other, less affected, regions to pool their crisis-fighting capabilities in task forces. Those are usually set up and run by a regional state government, of which there are 16 in Germany’s federal state-based political system.

Germany steps up emergency cash plans to cope in blackout

German authorities are stepping up preparations for emergency cash deliveries in case of a blackout to keep the economy running, four people involved said, as the nation braces for possible power cuts arising from the war in Ukraine.

The plans include the Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, hoarding extra billions to cope with a surge in demand, and possible limits on withdrawals, one of the people said.

Eurozone Crisis

Angela Merkel, then German Chancellor, was the key negotiator during the Eurozone crisis, focusing on fiscal discipline and strict bailout conditions. His approach was structured, data-driven, and unwavering, reinforcing the German preference for rules, order, and predictability.

European Stability Mechanism (2012)

Wolfgang Schäuble, as Finance Minister, played a central role in negotiating the European Stability Mechanism. He was known for his strict, no-nonsense approach, insisting on clear financial rules and enforcement mechanisms, underscoring the German preference for contractual certainty and fiscal discipline.

Treaty of Versailles (1919)

Although the Treaty of Versailles was deeply resented in Germany, the Allied powers expected strict adherence to its terms, and Germany was held to a high standard of compliance. The German public and government viewed agreements – even highly unfavorable ones – as binding, and the expectation was that obligations would be fulfilled as stipulated, unless renegotiated through formal channels .

Civil Rights Negotiations (1950s-1960s)

Martin Luther King Jr. negotiated numerous agreements with local and federal governments, emphasizing nonviolent resistance and moral persuasion. His approach was ethical, patient, and deeply focused on gaining moral authority, influencing public opinion as well as political leaders.