Stuttgart 21

There is an interesting situation developing in Stuttgart triggered by the Stuttgart 21 project. Briefly stated, the plan is to rebuild the entire Stuttgart Central Rail Station by turning it 90 degrees and burying it under the city, build tunnels to the airport and complete the Paris to Budapest High Speed Rail Line.

It was a project first envisioned 15 years ago, discussed in earnest over the last 5 years and finally some time about 12 months ago all of the necessary political and commercial document were signed and sealed.

The strange thing about the protest is that it wasn't until they actually started to tear down the old station that people got (negatively) excited about it such that last night somewhere between 25-50,000 demonstrators were on hand to try and block it.

My wife comes from Stuttgart and we travel there by train relatively frequently and so we were recently caught up in the demonstration.

My initial impression of the protest, or perhaps more to the point of the protesters was that there were relatively large numbers of high school age students being organised by significantly older people-in their 30's and 40's, as well as a number of people in their 50's and 60's.

The younger group seemed excited-they were skipping school. The organisers appeared to be professional organisers, and the older group struck me at as if they had gone into their cupboards, found their old protest armbands and banners from the 70's, and were "off to the demo".

So far, so good. But last week things got a bit more serious. The police, who claim to have been attacked, responded with pepper spray and water cannons to repel the crowds. The resulting pictures showed students and older folk getting slammed to the ground transforming a local conflict into a national one.

Just what the demonstration is about is difficult to ascertain. Indeed, the project itself is very difficult to understand.

Is it a real estate venture? The current main station and the tracks leading to it cover prime land in the center of the city. Is it a massive public works project which will employ over 10,000 construction workers for 10 years? Will it bring economic growth by completing the Paris to Budapest rail link? Or is it just a showplace of modern German engineering know-how?

And the protesters. Are they angry because some trees are being cut down? Are they enraged because the costs have almost doubled from the initial estimates. Are they upset because the major beneficiaries appear to be big business? Or are they just looking for something to get excited about?

What is clear however, is that a local development project in southern Germany has reached national proportions. It has perhaps turned in to a public manifestation of a general political discontent in Germany.

Frau Merkel, who has managed to navigate through myriad political storms is in danger of finding herself in a very small boat in the middle of a very rough sea.

Regardless of one's political leanings, I see no serious alternatives to Frau Merkel. It is strange how the politics of "no", whether from the left or the right, in whatever country, is challenging incumbents regardless of their record.