Stockpiling for an emergency?

The German government has developed a new civil defence concept which calls on the country's population to stockpile food and water for use in a national emergency. Commentators disagree about how seriously the step should be taken.

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La Vanguardia (ES) /

Supplies for the ten-day apocalypse

The German government's call on the people to stockpile food and water provokes an ironic response from La Vanguardia:

“The Germans have always displayed foresight. The Cold War was a warning to them. Today they are remembering that period when they had a museum that had previously been a bunker designed to accommodate up to 3,000 politicians for a month in the event of a nuclear attack. And only recently they unveiled in Rothenstein a facility for millionaires worried about the end of the world, a bunker for around 30 families complete with a swimming pool and gym. … In the same way these bunkers look like a clumsy attempt to cope with a nuclear disaster, the German government's stockpiling plan would seem like a pitiful palliative measure should its fears ever be realized. But perhaps we should be optimistic: it assumes it will be able to get the apocalypse under control within ten days.”

Pravda (SK) /

Civil defence measures should be taken seriously

There is no need to poke fun at the German government's civilian protection measures, the daily Pravda counters:

“This story has become a real hit. The Germans quickly thought up a new hashtag: 'Hamster purchases' [the German term for hoarding or panic-buying]. In their humour sections newspapers are publishing images depicting famines with captions like 'The end is nigh' or 'Hamsters sold out in Germany overnight'. Archive photos of plundered shops are doing the rounds on the Internet. ... Is the German government spreading panic? ... When the leaders of the mightiest country on the continent feels compelled to prepare the population for potential attacks and conflicts, this can't just be brushed off with witty comments on the Internet.”