So today especially in and around big cities like Dresden or Leipzig there are postmodern factories and industrial buildings. But in these past ten years things didn't develop to that extent everywhere. In the rural areas the infrastructure has hardly improved. Thus the economy in Eastern Germany isn't as competitive yet as its counterpart in Western Germany. And that creates the biggest problem our government has to fight.
Many people are out of work.
In the five new states these days more than 17 percent do not have a job, in the Western part the proportion is about 9.5 percent. So in the Fall of 1999 a total of about four million Germans are unemployed. The opposition of Christian Democrats and Free Democrats demand to radically lower all tax rates. They want to make Germany a much more attractive location for investors. In these parties' opinions this measure will lead to a boom of the economy.