Merkel announced the trip during her speech at a celebratory event to mark the 60th anniversary of Germany’s social market economy. It will take her "around the federal republic of education with visits to nursery schools, a senior citizens’ academy, vocational colleges, institutes of private education, education experts and the general public".
The trip will culminate in a national education summit in October this year which the Chancellor will hold jointly with the governments of the various German states (Länder). The summit has been organised, she said, "because people in this country are not just interested in seeing responsibility delegated". She stressed that they want responsibility to be recognised, accepted and acted upon.
The challenge of globalisation
Merkel reminded her audience that Germany’s social market economy was shaped by Ludwig Erhard whom she called a "structural mastermind". Back in 1948, Germany lay in tatters and the German people were looked upon with disdain in the wake of Nazi terror. The threat of a divided Germany was imminent, the economy had collapsed and money had lost its value.
Photo: REGIERUNGonline / Bergmann
Merkel commemorates 60 years of social market economyGiven the situation, the allies wanted simply to introduce a new currency. But Erhard was convinced that monetary reform was only possible if accompanied by economic reform. Although he had difficulty winning people over to the cause, he held his ground. The result was Germany’s social market economy. The terms economic miracle and "wealth for all" were heard long after its introduction.The world has changed since 1948. The word globalisation is symbolic for all that has happened. With this in mind, Chancellor Merkel posed the question as to "how we can best ensure that everyone benefits from the opportunities globalisation brings".
Opportunity and success
The Chancellor believes that the market economy can only prevail "if German society provides for opportunity and success. If it doesn’t, then people will turn their backs on us", said Merkel.
She stressed that talent must be fostered in everyone, whether they were born here or have moved here from abroad.
She spoke of a highly successful group of people whose achievements have captured the imagination of the entire country, commenting that Germany’s national football squad are all men with immigrant backgrounds. For the Chancellor, they are a fitting example of the notion that "opportunity brings success".
Chancellor Merkel also remarked that while Germany benefits greatly from globalisation, "not everyone enjoys the benefits it brings". This is why we need new ideas, she said.
But according to Merkel, these new ideas cannot simply be about spending more money. While she believes that as many people as possible should go to work, she rejects the idea of a minimum wage and sees it as a "job killer".
Instead, the Chancellor says the state should provide top-up benefits when wages fall below a minimum income level. She said experience has shown that this approach gets the long-term unemployed back into the labour market.
The Chancellor wants everyone to be afforded the opportunity to work and thus the opportunity to achieve success. She stressed that "we must use all the talent we have".
This brought her back to her main demand: access to education. Merkel wants Germany to become "the federal state of education".
Providing education for all
Merkel cited the following as vital prerequisites:
- Immigrants must be integrated into society. After all, in Germany’s larger cities some 40 to 50 percent of children stem from families with immigrant backgrounds.
- More people must be helped in finding work and new debt must be avoided.
- Lifelong learning – meaning from childhood into old age – is needed to meet the challenges arising from globalisation.
- Businesses should give their workers greater powers of co-responsibility.
