Do you think Germany is ready to be a world leader?

Sgt Kelli Mays — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 13:04:53 -0400

http://qz.com/515201/25-years-after-reunification-is-germany-ready-to-be-a-world-leader/

25 years after reunification, is Germany ready to be a world leader?

Decades of wrestling with history have made the German people power-shy. That might be about to change.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Oct 14 at 2015 1:06 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 13:06:20 -0400

Germany has been a world leader for some time Sgt Kelli Mays
They have been a world economic and of quality production leader when they were West Germany and East Germany.
They have been a bulwark in the European Union, they have supported international military operations with us since Desert Storm.
Their businesses have supplied our friends and foes including helping Iran with its nuclear ambitions. Therefore they are independent of us which right now is a good thing in many areas :-)

Response by CW3 Eric W. S. made Oct 14 at 2015 1:15 PM

CW3 Eric W. S. — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 13:15:33 -0400

More so than just about any other country in the European continent. They have a well established presence and I personally found when I lived there, many of their policies are superior even to the United States.

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Oct 14 at 2015 1:16 PM

SCPO David Lockwood — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 13:16:46 -0400

only one way to find out!

Response by SGT Jerrold Pesz made Oct 14 at 2015 2:19 PM

SGT Jerrold Pesz — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 14:19:57 -0400

As the US continues to decline in importance on the world stage someone will fill the vacuum. I had much rather it be the Germans than the others wanting to fill the void.

Response by PVT Robert Gresham made Oct 14 at 2015 2:31 PM

PVT Robert Gresham — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 14:31:40 -0400

Sgt Kelli Mays Having actually lived in Germany for (well) over 20 years, I was a bit puzzled by the question, and the article that was written. Germany is already a world leader, led only by a very few nations in an unbeatable health insurance program, public travel systems, and an extremely, "worker-friendly" employment system (How would you like to start a job with four weeks of vacation? Six if you have a more "friendly" employer.) German medicine, and other sciences are also some of the best in the world, and a "trip" to a University is primarily paid for by the State. Germany is also a huge international advocate of human rights.

Politically, Germany was one of the original members of the G5 (now known as the G8) economic group, formed in 1975, along with Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Germany is a major hub of trade of commerce, trade and finance for the entire European Union (EU).

Germany has, however, been limited by the "Potsdam Agreement" of 1945, which basically stated that in some aspects Germany did not have full national sovereignty. That was until the reunification of Germany in 1990 and the "Vertrag über die abschließende Regelung in Bezug auf Deutschland" (The Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany) This treaty allows Germany to make, and belong to, alliances without any foreign influence in its politics. "Germany was also to limit its combined armed forces to no more than 370,000 personnel, no more than 345,000 of whom were to be in the Army and the Air Force. Germany also reaffirmed its renunciation of the manufacture, possession of, and control over nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. The German Army could deploy conventional weapons systems with non-conventional capabilities, provided that they were equipped and designed for a purely conventional role. Germany also agreed to use military force only in accordance with the United Nations Charter." (Source-Wikipedia) As of February 2015, the German active duty Military stood at about 179,000.

So, where is Germany to go that they have not already been? The article sounds to me like a German journalist who believes that Germany doesn't already have its' hands full trying to deal with EU unrest, supporting NATO allies, taking in refugees, and basically, being one of the top ten leading countries, worldwide, in many other very important areas.

Response by SGT Robert Hawks made Oct 14 at 2015 4:17 PM

SGT Robert Hawks — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 16:17:56 -0400

They are one of the worlds largest economies and the most prosperous country in the European Union so they have been leading for quite awhile now

Response by Cpl James Waycasie made Oct 14 at 2015 7:02 PM

Cpl James Waycasie — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 19:02:31 -0400

Germany has always had the potential to be a world leader,; their problem has always been poor leadership.

Response by SN Jennifer M. made May 10 at 2016 9:04 AM

SN Jennifer M. — Tue, 10 May 2016 09:04:12 -0400

I think so. Certainly.