In the March 1990 elections the Christian Democrats get 50 per cent of the vote, and the local elections produce very similar results. New businesses are being set up almost daily. But they produce virtually nothing and create precious few jobs. The price of second-hand Western cars has almost doubled. It is being paid by people whose money, as of 1 July, has been halved in value.
Money is a subject in itself.
The queue in front of the bank hasn t budged since the beginning of June, and it s a very long queue. Western currency, which had a mystical aura for many years, has suddenly become the ordinary, everyday legal tender. The entire price structure has changed completely some prices are now higher even than in West Germany. The West Germans, known as Westies , treat the Easties as if we are were illiterate idiots. They forget that we paid the higher price for the partition of Germany as a precondition for peace in Europe.