ABSTRACT
On May 24, 1989, the West German Federal Republic celebrated its fortieth anniversary. This provisory state, created after the defeat in the Second World War, was completely stabilized and had become an economic, monetary, and political-institutional model. The paradox of the Maastricht Treaty is that it was born out of the necessity to bind and include reunified Germany in the European context, but through it the German Federal Republic imposed its own formula for stability and its own financial model on rest of Europe. Two fundamental characteristics of new German power can be detected: political realism and global strategy. The problems national governments have to deal with regarding immigration processes require global and supranational solutions, with grave economic and social implications. Sigmar Gabriel’s words show that, despite the theory of L. Mangasarian and J. Techau on its presumed ‘strategic frivolousness,’ Germany’s realism and global strategy put aside false hypocrisy and attempts to counterbalance economic and political interests with moral values.
