Christopher Hitchens: “Just to avoid further indebtedness,” wrote Schürer, “would mean a lowering next year of living standards by 25 to 30 per cent, and make the GDR ungovernable.”

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Andrew Murphy @ 9 November 2009, 8:31 pm

“Or let’s not forget George Galloway who said, day that the Soviet Union fell as the worst day of his life.”

It collapsed under the weight of its own internal contradictions! Isn’t irony delicious?

Christopher Hitchens: ” people, especially in former East Germany, are supposedly “nostalgic” for the security of the old Stalinist system. Such sentimental piffle—which got a good airing in that irritating movie Good Bye Lenin!— ”

Someone should tell Hitchens that the film is a comedy, which was a huge hit in Germany. I has a useful side effect in undermining sterotypes of Germans not having a sense of humour.

He made the decision not to attend weeks ago.

Mind you, those in attendance were blessed with Obama’s presence via video, where he reminded everyone about Obama – whodathunk 20 years ago the USA would have a African American President.

Bearing in mind that Obama is fully conscient of the importance of symbolic gestures, because it was the appeal to them that brought him to power, his absense reveals how unimportant Europe is for his priorities, and how keen he is in making it clear.

It’s not about him – that’s why he isn’t showing.

Like the West German welfare state perchance?

Har. I only have a Bachelor’s in History, and I know that. I thought is was nonsense at the time, too. It was a remarkable time for democracy, though. The problem is, of course, that as a creed, “democracy” is pretty thin stuff.

Gorbie always bored me. I mean, even when he was speaking extemporaneously, he was full of jargon and bureaucratese. I suppose I’m glad it was him and not, say, Kryuchkov or Ligachev, who presided over communism’s death-rattle.