Minister presidents call for fair treatment of the East

The Minister Presidents of Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg and Thuringia believe that the eastern German states are at a disadvantage compared to the western German states. "It's not about special treatment. It's simply about fairness," said Brandenburg's Minister President Dietmar Woidke at the infrastructure conference in Lutherstadt Wittenberg (Saxony-Anhalt). For example, the construction of railroad lines had to be "fought for" or paid for by the eastern German states, while investments were being made in southern Germany. "That is simply painful," said the SPD politician.

The Brandenburg politician sees a further disadvantage with regard to infrastructure when it comes to building bridges. The fact that there are far too few bridges to Poland is a huge disadvantage for the economy in eastern Germany, he said. "Doing something about this would really help us, and would also help Germany."

Voigt: "We are still Champions League in many areas"

Thuringia's Minister President Mario Voigt also repeatedly sees inequality between East and West Germany. One example is the distribution of the headquarters of large German companies. "The fact that the West German headquarters are closing their production facilities here in the East, but not making any savings at their headquarters in the West - that's not what I mean by transformation," said Thuringia's head of government.

There are problems, but there is also potential, emphasized the CDU politician. "We shouldn't act as if we are a mediocre district league team. We are still Champions League in many areas."

Schulze is optimistic about the future despite the problems

In order to change things, you also need courage, emphasized Saxony-Anhalt Minister President Sven Schulze. "You can do something if you want to. You just have to have the courage to really want to do it and stand up to those who are critical of it," said Voigt's party colleague.

The Federal Commissioner for Eastern Germany, Elisabeth Kaiser (SPD), also emphasized the strengths of the eastern German states: "The east is not a problem case, but part of the overall economic reality - with its own strengths and potential." Despite existing problems, Schulze is nevertheless optimistic about the future of eastern Germany: "In the medium term, central and northern Germany will have much better economic conditions than the south."