The crisis in Germany's model city
Why Stuttgart's troubles matter far beyond Baden-Württemberg
Dear Reader,
When Berlin failed to open its new airport on time, Germans shrugged and said “typisch Berlin”.
The capital has always been treated as Germany’s exception. It is the city of delayed infrastructure projects, overwhelmed bureaucracy and permanently strained finances. If a Berlin infrastructure project opens ten years late and billions over budget, it may be embarrassing, but it is hardly a cause to question the very fundamentals of the German model.
When the same thing happens in Stuttgart, however, it is harder to laugh. Long associated with the Schwabian virtues of thrift, ingenuity and hard work, the state capital of Baden-Württemberg has made a name for itself across the globe for engineering excellence.
Yet this week, the opening of Stuttgart 21 — the city’s long-awaited underground railway station — was pushed back yet again. When cons…