Luboš Palata on the appeal of Eastern Germany

Twenty 20 years after German reunification Eastern Germany has developed remarkably and is increasingly attractive as an investment location for its neighbours from Eastern Europe, writes Luboš Palata in the conservative daily Lidové noviny: "In [the German state] Mecklenburg-West Pomerania Poles buy houses from Germans who move to the more affluent western part of the country. If you ask Poles what attracts them over the border they point to the orderly roads, a well-run country and a functioning state apparatus. Today's Eastern Germany has become a paradise for investors from Central Europe. ... Plus we Czechs have the advantage that we still understand 'our Germans'. Here we stand in marked contrast to the West Germans, who fail to understand the East Gemans at all. We feel a sort of sympathy for them, like equal partners, something we don't feel for the West Germans at all. Eastern Germany is waiting for people and investments. It is an ideal place for self-confident Czechs."

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