GERMAN PUNCTUALITY AND AZERBAIJANI HOSPITALITY

Germany enjoys well-deserved respect and authority in the modern world. German quality and German punctuality (read: obligation) are probably the main reasons for the country's fame in the modern world. On the one hand, they reflect the country's unquestionable advantages and, on the other - they are the fruit of good, well-thought out German-style endeavour by PR officials and political strategists. As a result, German firms are perceived as reliable business partners that perform at a high level. Notions of German quality are so deeply entrenched in the minds of our people that when buying a car, some even seriously think about what is the better choice: a new Korean or a used German car?

In 1945, this defeated country was in ruins, crushed by the tread of Soviet tanks and bombed out by allied aircraft. Today, after 75 years, we see Germany in a completely different incarnation - the economic engine and political core of the European Union, exporter of the most advanced scientific technologies and, finally, a state seeking to play an increasingly important role in the global political system, as evidenced by its desire to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. In addition, Germany has managed to regain its lost democratic values and become one of the symbols and main guardians of the well-known European values based on the principle of a democratic state.

What was the reason for its rapid recovery after the two devastating world wars that this country went through? There is a popular belief that the rapid development of the German economy in the post-war years was due to US financial injections into West Germany via the so-called "Marshall Plan". Yes, this is partly true: the West actively helped Germany to recover and develop, as the Soviet Union, in turn, helped the German Democratic Republic. West and East Germany were "showcases" for the two hostile camps at that time: capitalism and socialism. Almost simultaneously with the collapse of the socialist bloc, Germany reunited, which was not only for historical and political reasons, but mainly for economic ones: experiencing a severe economic crisis in its final years, it became prohibitively expensive for the USSR to keep East Germany. The "orphan" East Germany needed total modernization, and was unable to do this on its own. This process is still ongoing and the "new lands" (the five new eastern regions) are still behind the western lands in living standards and wages.

A little bit about integration, immigrants and Thilo Sarrazin

In Germany, as in many other Western countries, the immigration problem is quite acute. Perhaps, the word "integration" and "integration problems" have become the most frequently used here in recent years.

In the 1960s, Germany desperately needed a cheap labour force to cover the needs of a rapidly recovering economy. At that time, contracts were signed with the governments of many countries - Turkey, Greece, Yugoslavia, Spain, Italy etc. The German government's original plan provided for the principle of "rotation": residents of the aforementioned countries, having worked in Germany for some time, were to return to their country after the expiration of their contracts and be replaced by others. But the reality was somewhat different: the principle of "rotation" was cancelled due to its economic inefficiency, because it was always necessary to train new workers, which was costly for German companies. As a result, immigrants received permanent residence permits and the right to invite their families to Germany. The result was that, according to Germany's statistical service, in 2009 the number of "people with an immigrant background" was around 16 million, in a country of 82 million, and about 7 million of them are still foreign nationals. These are mainly Turkish guest workers, representing one of the least integrated immigrant communities in Germany. Until recently, the government preferred to keep silent about problems of integration and banked on a "multicultural" social model which suggested co-existence between all ethnic cultures in the country, while preserving their identity and creating conditions for their development.

This worthy liberal aspiration was extremely difficult to implement in practice. The Germans accepted certain aspects of immigrant culture: cuisine can be cited as a positive example. Thus, the doner, which was the invention of a Turk from Berlin, has become almost fast food number one in Europe. But when it comes to values of a more spiritual nature, then there is a problem that is difficult to conceal. Perhaps the problem is the large number of immigrants, or a certain antagonism between the values of Europeans and, say, deeply religious Muslim Turks from Anatolia. We could discuss this subject for a long time, figuring out who is right and who is to blame, but we see what happened - namely, Chancellor Angela Merkel stated openly that the multicultural model of German society has failed. This statement was preceded by a scandal surrounding a book by Thilo Sarrazin, a former member of the Socialist Party and former chairman of the Federal Bank. In his book "Germany Does Away with Itself ", Sarrazin, using data on population decline in Germany and the simultaneous influx of immigrants from Muslim countries, criticized the country's rigid integration policy. It is worth noting that in this work, the writing often suffers from inconsistencies and allows for provocative statements about the genetic identity of peoples; as an example, he cites Jews who, according to Sarrazin, have "a certain Jewish genome". It is an inexcusable mistake, for which Sarrazin, despite his subsequent apology, paid with the "self-destruction" of his political career. However, despite this, the book, apart from some of the above passages, found fairly broad support among the masses and sparked intense debate. Semi-criminal ghettos and "states within a state", with their unwritten laws, the marginalization of a substantial part of their own citizens, not to mention immigrants, are not something that German society seeks. There is a clear understanding: in order to overcome this problem, you need to conduct an effective policy of integration. But when asked what this policy should look like, there is still no unequivocal answer...

Germany-Azerbaijan: a state of bilateral cooperation

Returning to the theme of Germany's post-war development, it is worth noting that not only the money generously provided by the West, but also its rational management, helped the Germans to overcome the difficulties of the post-war period and achieve further sustainable development after the reunification of the country. Perhaps we have something to learn from them here: Azerbaijan, implementing its multi-billion dollar oil and gas contracts, is earning huge amounts of money, which is then channelled into the improvement of the infrastructure and general enhancement of social standards. At the same time, a more effective and rational distribution of those revenues in order to obtain maximum efficiency from the money invested is an area in which our state still has some work to do. Burdened by huge defence spending because of neighbouring Armenia's aggression and supporting a million-strong army of refugees, the Azerbaijani economy needs qualified foreign-educated specialists to introduce the latest manufacturing technology from the West. Here, it is appropriate to quote Trend news agency's interview with Azerbaijan's Honorary Consul in Stuttgart, Otto Hauser: "We must take into account the fact that when German companies come to Azerbaijan and wish to begin production here, they will a need skilled workforce. And if that does not exist, there will be no investment. Work in this sphere is very important for Azerbaijan... Here in Germany, we have practically no minerals. We do not have any oil or gas. But we have qualified specialists. And a lot of money is being invested in them. Azerbaijan is rich in natural resources, but they will run out one day. The really important asset is a skilled workerforce. And investment is required here. Cooperation with German universities and the creation of opportunities for young people from Azerbaijan to go to Germany for training and experience, and vice versa, is one of the most important points of cooperation between Baden-Wurttemberg and Azerbaijan".

It is no accident that Otto Hauser spoke about cooperation with Baden-Wurttemberg - one of Germany's richest regions, known to people in the street primarily because Mercedes cars are made there. Historical ties between Azerbaijan and this region were established 190 years ago when the first Swabian settlers founded the cities of Helenendorf and Annenfeld in Azerbaijan. The current EU commissioner for energy and former Prime Minister of Baden-Wurttemberg, Guenther Oettinger, visited Azerbaijan in 2009 at the invitation of President Ilham Aliyev. This visit gave a new impetus to economic partnership between the two countries. In balanced trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Germany, which amounted to almost 1.6 billion euros in 2009, Azerbaijan exports mainly oil and imports various groups of goods.

From a political point of view, relations between the two countries are proceeding smoothly. Germany recognizes Nagornyy Karabakh and the seven surrounding occupied districts as Azerbaijani territories, which is written openly on the German Foreign Ministry's website, and it supports international efforts to resolve the conflict peacefully.

Azerbaijan is not knocking on the EU's door and annoying German taxpayers and politicians, who are tired of paying others' debts. Foreign capital in Azerbaijan does not face obstacles, while the number of German companies is growing. The RWE energy concern is one of five shareholders in the Nabucco project. According to the newly appointed German ambassador, Herbert Quelle, perhaps the only factors creating some negative sentiment in the almost perfect bilateral relations between our two countries are isolated cases of violations of individual rights and freedoms which, according to the ambassador, take place in our country.

However, despite some criticism, the German ruling elite in general and the German diplomatic mission in our country in particular, are traditionally known for their sensitive approach when assessing the political situation in Azerbaijan and do not consider themselves entitled to act as arbitrators, reasonably believing that Azerbaijan has undertaken obligations to international organizations, not to individual states. This position was reflected during the visit of the Bundestag deputy Manfred Grund (CDU) as an observer of the parliamentary elections. Election observers are known to be different - and visiting a foreign country, they sometimes produce a mixed reaction from the host country. On election day, the CEC said that some of them openly interfered in the electoral process. Some observers are pessimistic from the very outset and are determined to condemn the process, while others, we must confess, are on the contrary, ready to give a positive assessment of the elections sight unseen.

German Bundestag deputy Manfred Grund and his counterpart from the Austrian Parliament, Karl Oellinger, who had come to our country as short-term observers are neither one nor the other. As pragmatic politicians with a classic "German" way of thinking, they represent a sort of happy medium. The deputies approached the monitoring of the elections no less pragmatically, guided by the motto "combine business with pleasure".

Well, really, why visit shining constituencies in the capital and torment the already tormented commission members when you can afford a small tour of an exotic Caucasian country and simultaneously assess the electoral process in the districts of Azerbaijan? Knowing in advance from a telephone conversation with Manfred Grund about his desire to visit one of the most picturesque regions of the country, the author of the article, without a second thought, chose Quba to show the foreign guests the beauty of the Greater Caucasus. Colleagues from the OSCE/ODIHR, with their usual professionalism, helped with travel arrangements.

The new highway to Quba was a pleasant surprise for observers who regularly visit the former Soviet Union and know what it is like to travel on a bad road.

Having checked a few polling stations in and around Quba, the deputies were satisfied with the level of organization. "In Germany or Austria, we would not be able to organize the voting process any better," the MPs said, without sparing words of praise to the great satisfaction of election commission employees. With the same views, they pleased local television journalists who interviewed them at the entrance to a polling station.

Elections in Xinaliq - an ancient 4,000-year-old mountain village in Quba - were somewhat different. And it's not just that, unlike the bleak landscapes of Abseron and the depressing views of concrete-box Baku neighbourhoods, they were held here surrounded by snow-capped mountains at an altitude of 2,300 metres above sea level. It is worth noting that, thanks to the head of state's attention, a new asphalt road was built to Xinaliq a couple of years ago. Speaking of "the new road", we should clarify that there was no "old road" as such. And whereas previously local residents faced seasonal isolation because of rain and snow from October until May, this problem no longer exists. Returning to the organization of the elections, I should note that while "testing" the polling station, the foreign visitors wondered how elections could take place so far from "civilization". But the geographical remoteness of Xinaliq had absolutely no effect on the level of the electoral process: it complied with European standards, which was reflected in the observers' special assessment forms.

The foreign guests were especially greatly surprised by the fact that the language spoken by the inhabitants of Xinaliq is absolutely unique and is not spoken elsewhere in the world. The very fact that people had managed to preserve their identity for more than 4,000 years seemed just fantastic to them. It is also very pleasing that for all its uniqueness, the village did not remain aloof from democratic processes and showed quite a high turnout.

Naturally, the villagers did not fail to demonstrate real Caucasian hospitality: the whole observation group was invited for lunch and tea in one of the farmhouses. Although the dinner was not planned in advance, as the Germans like it, it was an Azerbaijani-style, warm and sincere occasion.