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> “the longing for a digital national champion,” Meh, these seem like lame excuses for what is basically blatant corruption at the level of government authorit

> “the longing for a digital national champion,” Meh, these seem like lame excuses for what is basically blatant corruption at the level of government authorities. Try not paying your taxes in Germany as a small time freelancer and watch how fast the tax man comes after you. If I tell him, "please look the other way, I'm trying to build you a national tech champion" I'm pretty sure it's not gonna fly. Probably because I'm not politically connected well enough at the higher echelons like wirecard was. Hey Germany, if you're so longing for a digital champion, why aren't you massively lowering taxes for start-ups, flooding them with funding and cutting their red tape, instead of aiding the corrupt enterprises of well connected crooks? >“the German mentality toward non-Germans” The truth has been spoken. This skepticism towards anything non-German is one of the reasons the SW sector and digitalization in Germany is in such a dire shape. >“German supervisory authorities are not fit for the ‘Internet Age" Here here. You can add to that the courts too and the politicians who need to have their "internet printed".

amadeuspagel 4y ago
How many people do you think Wirecard bribed? Why did everyone else look away?
- luckylion 4y ago
  For the same reason why they all looked away when Scholz was bribed by Warburg: they were following orders.
- belter 4y ago
  "...Russian consulate in Munich, where he held meetings with spies and government officials..." "Wirecard scandal: German Finance Minister questioned" - https://www.dw.com/en/wirecard-scandal-german-finance-minister-olaf-scholz-denies-responsibility/a-57297062 https://www.dw.com/en/wirecard-scandal-german-finance-minist...
vkou 4y ago
> Hey Germany, if you're so longing for a digital champion, why aren't you massively lowering taxes for start-ups, flooding them with funding and cutting their red tape, instead of aiding the corrupt enterprises of well connected crooks? What makes you think opening a firehouse of funding isn't going to be immediately siphoned up by corrupt enterprises of well-connected crooks?
- bell-cot 4y ago
  THIS. If you've had a crappy environment for ~honest, competent young business leaders for a long time - then your local ecosystem will be dominated by the other sort. Like watering & fertilizing a field that has mostly been seeded with weeds, then expecting a good harvest.
andix 4y ago
> „the German mentality toward non-Germans” This skepticism towards anything non-German is one of the reasons the SW sector and digitalization in Germany is in such a dire shape. In Germany the „Michelin“ tires are pronounced in a German way in advertisements (and not in French, like in most other countries), because Germans wouldn’t buy something that has a name that doesn’t sound German.
- a2800276 4y ago
  This is such a weird example. Michelin the tire company is certainly not pronounced French in the US, either. (Not sure how, say, Poles or Indonesians pronounce it, but french pronunciation is notoriously unrelated to how it's written) Michelin is a company with a very long history, with an active presence Germany dating back well over a hundred years. They were already large by then. Maybe German pronunciation made things more palatable for consumers, but it was certainly well know that the company was French. And by now, it's an established brand that has a fixed pronunciation. As the obvious frame of reference in this case is the notoriously "open to all things not from here" USA: remind me again how Americans pronounce Volkswagen or Continental, let alone Huawei. (Or _any_ foreign or even British word) Curiously, Germans generally try to use the "French" pronunciation of Guide Michelin. Anyway point being people everywhere pronounce things the way they do because it puts the least strain on their cognitive and physical vocal system. Your example doesn't support the (possibly valid) point you're trying to make the point that Germans have a bad attitude toward foreign concepts, things and people.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]

amadeuspagel 4y ago

How many people do you think Wirecard bribed? Why did everyone else look away?

luckylion 4y ago
For the same reason why they all looked away when Scholz was bribed by Warburg: they were following orders.
belter 4y ago
"...Russian consulate in Munich, where he held meetings with spies and government officials..." "Wirecard scandal: German Finance Minister questioned" - https://www.dw.com/en/wirecard-scandal-german-finance-minister-olaf-scholz-denies-responsibility/a-57297062 https://www.dw.com/en/wirecard-scandal-german-finance-minist...

vkou 4y ago

> Hey Germany, if you're so longing for a digital champion, why aren't you massively lowering taxes for start-ups, flooding them with funding and cutting their red tape, instead of aiding the corrupt enterprises of well connected crooks? What makes you think opening a firehouse of funding isn't going to be immediately siphoned up by corrupt enterprises of well-connected crooks?

bell-cot 4y ago
THIS. If you've had a crappy environment for ~honest, competent young business leaders for a long time - then your local ecosystem will be dominated by the other sort. Like watering & fertilizing a field that has mostly been seeded with weeds, then expecting a good harvest.

andix 4y ago

> „the German mentality toward non-Germans” This skepticism towards anything non-German is one of the reasons the SW sector and digitalization in Germany is in such a dire shape. In Germany the „Michelin“ tires are pronounced in a German way in advertisements (and not in French, like in most other countries), because Germans wouldn’t buy something that has a name that doesn’t sound German.

a2800276 4y ago
This is such a weird example. Michelin the tire company is certainly not pronounced French in the US, either. (Not sure how, say, Poles or Indonesians pronounce it, but french pronunciation is notoriously unrelated to how it's written) Michelin is a company with a very long history, with an active presence Germany dating back well over a hundred years. They were already large by then. Maybe German pronunciation made things more palatable for consumers, but it was certainly well know that the company was French. And by now, it's an established brand that has a fixed pronunciation. As the obvious frame of reference in this case is the notoriously "open to all things not from here" USA: remind me again how Americans pronounce Volkswagen or Continental, let alone Huawei. (Or _any_ foreign or even British word) Curiously, Germans generally try to use the "French" pronunciation of Guide Michelin. Anyway point being people everywhere pronounce things the way they do because it puts the least strain on their cognitive and physical vocal system. Your example doesn't support the (possibly valid) point you're trying to make the point that Germans have a bad attitude toward foreign concepts, things and people.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]