The end of coal mining - but not the end of the Ruhr

"If the grand coalition in Berlin confirms the end of hard coal mining in Germany, it certainly won't be an economic disaster for the Ruhr," writes Johann Schloemann. "Yet the end of coal mining is more than just the final phase in the inevitable process of restructuring, because solidarity with the coal mining industry is as deep-rooted as the deepest shaft in Europe's most densely populated and largest industrial region... It's the psychological impact that has prevented social democracy from giving the go-ahead for cutting off subsidies for the coal mining industry this long – it can't have been just about securing the votes of the miners. But perhaps it's better now to shake off all the coal dust and thoughts of preserving the past. This will open the region's eyes – and the rest of Germany's eyes – to all the changes that have already taken hold in the Ruhr: to the new industries, the universities, and also its blossoming culture. The election of Essen as the European Capital of Culture 2010 is proof of this blossoming... This doesn't mean that the region's economic problems should be glossed over with culture. But a Ruhr valley without coal opens up the way for a Ruhr valley without clichés."

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