The equivalence report shows: Regional differences in Germany are decreasing. But perceptions are distorted and full of prejudices.
Whether in the East or the West, there are also poor living conditions in the West and good living conditions in the East. Photo: Wolfgang Maria Weber/imago
The federal government has presented a report examining living conditions in Germany. And one might add: finally! The fact that it did not have this data to systematically compare districts and that it did not even know how its funds were distributed is absurd.
Now every citizen can read about the supply of paediatricians in their district, the fine dust pollution or the development of the business tax. In short: how habitable their region is.
In short, there is finally some good news: living conditions are becoming more equal. There are big differences when you compare the economic power of Wolfsburg with that of the Erzgebirge. There are also big differences between East and West in terms of wage levels, childcare and the gender pay gap. But these are getting smaller and the economy in the East is growing faster. And significantly more funds are flowing to the East – and rightly so.
Glasses without visibility
It would be good if these findings had an impact on the public debate. Because it is easy to talk about the abandoned East, but it obscures the view. Because “the East” does not exist. And the report shows that life in the Berlin suburbs is more comparable to that of similar districts in the west than to that of Prignitz. And there are many problems in the East and West at the same time, such as regions that are ageing. So instead of looking at what separates us, it would be productive to discover similarities.
In East and West, around two-thirds are satisfied. At the same time, most East Germans believe that life could be better in other regions.
The East-West perspective has consequences: For the report, 30,000 people from all districts were asked how satisfied they were with their lives (this has never happened before!). The good result: despite all the problems, two-thirds of Germans are satisfied – also in East Germany. At the same time, the majority of East Germans believe that life could be better in other regions.
When news broke last week that the railways wanted to cancel some long-distance transport connections, many media outlets, including the taz, criticised the possible loss of rail connections in East Germany. There was great enthusiasm: The East is falling behind again! The federal government report shows that half of the population throughout Germany is dissatisfied with the availability of local transport and cycle paths.
In other areas, subjective perception and objective situation diverge. In the districts bordering Poland, for example, the feeling of security is low, although crime statistics show that in the big cities it is much more dangerous.
Before writing the next tweet or editorial about the lagging East or the rise of the AfD, it is worth shifting perspective and not just arguing about perceived truths.