Union man goes to the dark side
You’ve got to have principles if you want to get by in this world. But as long as one’s main principle is “looking out for number one”, you should get by just fine. No matter what your other part-time principles may be, I mean.
Let’s face it. If there is one thing that Germans have an absolute overabundance of it is principles. They have principles of all sizes, shapes and colors over here and keeping them well-organized and handy for whenever you might need them must be a complicated and daunting task indeed. So keeping it simple and real with this above-mentioned golden rule is probably the best way to go. It’s a no-brainer really.
That’s why I don’t understand all the excitement about train union Transnet boss Norbert Hansen’s announced switch-over to the Bahn’s board of directors. What’s so “strange”, “shameless” or even “treacherous” about that? Here in Germany, I mean. This kind of stuff happens all the time over here. After all, German politicians jump from one party to the next on a regular basis (Lafontaine, Schilly, Verheugen, Metzger, etc.) and nobody could care less about that, so why shouldn’t those in the free/unfree economy be able to do the same?
First the good fight for more pay and job security, now the good fight for maximum profit and shareholder value. What’s the difference? There is no difference. Not if you are a German manager, that is. Run with it, Norbert. You go guy.
Das ist bloß das Ergebnis einer konsequenten Politik.
Let’s face it. If there is one thing that Germans have an absolute overabundance of it is principles. They have principles of all sizes, shapes and colors over here and keeping them well-organized and handy for whenever you might need them must be a complicated and daunting task indeed. So keeping it simple and real with this above-mentioned golden rule is probably the best way to go. It’s a no-brainer really.
That’s why I don’t understand all the excitement about train union Transnet boss Norbert Hansen’s announced switch-over to the Bahn’s board of directors. What’s so “strange”, “shameless” or even “treacherous” about that? Here in Germany, I mean. This kind of stuff happens all the time over here. After all, German politicians jump from one party to the next on a regular basis (Lafontaine, Schilly, Verheugen, Metzger, etc.) and nobody could care less about that, so why shouldn’t those in the free/unfree economy be able to do the same?
First the good fight for more pay and job security, now the good fight for maximum profit and shareholder value. What’s the difference? There is no difference. Not if you are a German manager, that is. Run with it, Norbert. You go guy.
Das ist bloß das Ergebnis einer konsequenten Politik.
Kommentare auf Deutsch? Selbstverständlich.
PS: But in all fairness, you can find people who do switch hitting like this all over the world, in all sorts of "political" and "principle" situations (think US presidential campaign, for instance). It's not just a provencial, German kind of thing (anymore).
