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Hebel, Stephan
5 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
We must make use of the legacy of empowerment
The peaceful self-determination that marked the revolution of 20 years ago remains a valuable legacy that must not be tossed to the wind, writes the left-liberal Frankfurter Rundschau. Rather, the paper comments, it must be harnessed to face the challenges of the present: "In the still freshly united Germany it was the great East-diagnostician Joachim Gauck who developed the concept of 'empowerment'. ... Gauck's appeal to self-empowerment, to striking out anew on the path to a better life, is by no means outmoded. All of the celebrations would be empty pomp if the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall were not also used to ask: how can we, 'the people', apply the uplifting experience of self-empowerment to shape our own conditions in the present day? ... The people in East Germany who rebelled in order to empower themselves could not guess that they stood the slimmest chance of success. They had more cause for resignation than anyone who leans back nowadays 'because you can't change things anyway'. We will waste the legacy of the peaceful overthrow of Eastern Europe if we don't use it for the challenges of the present."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » History, » Germany
The train drivers' strike in Germany
Stephan Hebel explains what is really at stake in the strike of German train drivers, namely "the question of how much value is (still) placed on skilled work in today's internationally networked, service-oriented society". He points out that the demands on train drivers have risen considerably: "In accordance with his strict shift schedule, the train driver must always arrive punctually because Porsche no longer keeps the countless components in stock but now produces them on a 'just in time' basis, and therefore depends on efficient logistics at dozens of different points. From the manager who is rushing to keep his appointment with a Chinese businessman at Frankfurt Airport to the carmaker in Leipzig, Germany, renowned for its quality products, depends on service providers like the Deutsche Bahn. This has radically changed many job profiles, including that of the train driver, and the pressure at work certainly won't have decreased under these circumstances. Therefore it's precisely because they've recognised the challenges of globalisation that the train drivers want more money - not because they yearn for a return to the times when railway officials were poorly paid but enjoyed life-long job security."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Labour market / Services, » Germany
Deutsche Bahn's warning strikes
In its battle for a salary increase of up to 30 percent, the German train drivers' trade union GDL has announced strikes for the coming week. Stephan Hebel comments: "For a long time reports of train driver strikes in England, Italy or France sounded strange to German ears. Anyone piloting a train in Germany was a civil servant and as such part of a deal: strikes were taboo but your job was more secure than almost anywhere else... In the long term the train strike will be nothing more than an episode in a very fundamental battle being fought to ensure that globalised capitalism comes in a socially compatible form. If the Mehdorns [a reference to Deutsche Bahn boss Hartmut Mehdorn] of this world think they can have their profits, their stock market performance and their employees for dumping prices, sooner or later their business will explode in their faces."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Labour market / Services, » Corporations, » Germany
The popularity of the ultra-right NPD in Eastern Germany
According to Stephan Hebel, the success of the NPD in Eastern Germany can be put down to the established parties' negligence which has allowed the NPD to "cast itself in the role of the only remaining source of sympathy and understanding for the desires and needs of the people in those states... It's not just the poor and unemployed who are looking for a voice that expresses their concerns regarding the future in a way that is different to the tug of war of the governing parties in Schwerin or Berlin. It's hardly surprising that this has led to the formation of a minority that is willing to accept extremist right-wing ideology. No one exploits people's feelings of powerlessness or of being a victim of the 'system parties' as brutally as the NPD does. Between elections, politicians and the media watch this process passively. They and all the others who are so shocked when they see the election results hardly bother about the problems that produce votes for the neo-Nazis in everyday life."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Germany
Smoking and non-smoking in the EU
According to Stephan Hebel, both the EU's anti-smoking policy and the German debate on the subject are disastrous. "Two very different views of the world clash with each other here: trade and industry demand the right to self-regulation while the state calls for government-imposed anti-smoking laws but doesn't quite know how to box such laws through the jungle of federal and state jurisdiction. Meanwhile, smokers continue to fill pubs and bars with their smoke while the Italians enjoy smoke-free dinners. But only the EU could come up with the hare-brained idea of allowing employees to ask job candidates whether they smoke and refuse them a job on such grounds – instead of just banning smoking at workplaces altogether. This is the urgent plea of a smoker: switch on the draft law machinery and do something – at least here in Germany. We'd rather give up smoking than have to keep on listening to this never-ending debate."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Social Policy / Employment, » Health Policy, » Crime and Law, » Europe
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