The German economic model is to be considered to some extend. In fact we can see that Germany employs more youngsters, that unemployment is much lower. However there is no protection system that is making things easier. That is the reason why it is possible to say that Germany has a very interesting system to watch, even if it should not be imitated in all aspects.
First it is possible to say that Germany has built the reform of Schroder in 2000 : those reforms have different aspects. For instance can lead to a new model that is leading to less social protection, even if the system is made more souple. There are also virtues this country has for a long time : a long tradition of focus on the education, which dates from Luther, a tradition of social dialog, and also the possibility of budgetary discipline. The industry is also very strong in Germany, on the contrary to France. However this model is focused on the exportation, which explains its policy towards China.
Germany has also a tradition of building an approach that can favor the inclusion of the youth. The generalization of alternance among schools is a way of better integration. However, like in many countries, the lack of teacher can create serious problems in the long run for the system. Moreover the demography is creating problems. Some will say that is a reason why Germany is so eager to welcome refugees. However, personally, I approve the decision of Germany to welcome refugees in 2013 : the policy of educating these refugees and learning German to them is a policy that could inspire France. Moreover many refugees are from the middle class, are educated and can contribute to the development of the economy. That is the reason why focusing on a massive learning of languages is a real factor of integration.
Another factor of the german model is its budgetary approach. Germany has a discipline concerning its policy that is creating today real excedents. Its weight compared to France is more and more important, and that is the reason why it is possible to say that Germany is the leading power in Europe. The choice of this country to get rid of nuclear plants is a real step to the direction of better environmental development objectives, even it is first the result of the traumatism of Fukushima. This approach is creating many questions for its French counterpart. However it is important to say that Germany lack of investment in defense is the result of the WWII ; that Germany is considered to be a economic giant and a political and military nain. But this country succeeded to perform a great come back, to surpass France economically and technologically, and to become the real first power in Europe.
Its mentality it telling a lot about that, to the extend this country has the mentality to think in the long run and to value austerity and really hard work. Germany is arguably following the mentality many social democrats would like to implement : a culture of hard work, of investment in the long run, and of social dialog. Of course the German system has not social protections France contains. However its culture of discipline, hard work, of investment in the long run, its policy of a highly educated workforce, with a focus on foreign languages (which comes back to Luther) give to this country many attributes of a social democratic system, at least in its mentality. But this approach is making this country a secure place for investors, while psychology, as it is well known, is an important factor in the economy.
In my opinion, in many ways, it may be interesting to inspire from such a country. Not on everything : its lack of social protection system shouldn’t be a model. However its culture of hard work, its mentality of building in the long run should be more significant in our policies. That is the reason why, in many aspects, our powerful German partner is a really interesting country to observe.
The observer 