The "Sick man of Europe" in 1970s --and most famously-- was the UK, not Germany (which didn't happen until the 1990s and was attributed to re-unification, not a

The "Sick man of Europe" in 1970s --and most famously-- was the UK, not Germany (which didn't happen until the 1990s and was attributed to re-unification, not any particular issues with manufacturing) The original "sick man" was the Ottoman Empire, but pretty everyone has been hit with the title at one point.