though still polite. Siegmund Engel, 35, who puts together 3-series BMWs, is typical: " People say that costs are too high. It's

truethat other countries are cheaper. That is bad news for us. But I think our costs here are..." (he pauses) "... appropriate."

Siegmund says he cannot imagine getting less than the basic pounds 500 a week he now earns. His opposite numbers at Rover

in Longbridge would no doubt be pleased to trade places. Siegmund himself readily admits that BMW, in common with the rest

of theGerman economy, is not run on the cheap.

According to BMW, all but a few per cent of its workers earn more than DM60,000 (pounds 27,000) a year - in Longbridge

the average is pounds 16,000. The BMW workers enjoy a holiday entitlement which starts at six weeks a year (five weeks at

Longbridge),and goes up from there. Plus there are the standard public holidays, which Catholic Bavaria is especially keen on -

12 or 14 a year depending on how you count them (Britain has eight).

Then there is Urlaubsgeld, or "holiday money" - approximately an extra month's pay, towards the summer

Germany'. But the advantage, if we still have one, is smaller than it was." Mr Pfister points out that the problems of the

up.Shops treat their customers with Communist- style disdain. "Browsers welcome" is not a familiar motto; linger, and you risk

And when it comes to manufacturing exports, make no mistake: Germany still succeeds. Latest figures, for October, show a

Across Germany, the national economic high-wire act can be difficult to explain. Certainly, the success does not come from

quite seems to burst, however often the pessimists and the statistics suggest that it is about to. Whenever there has been

meaning the competitiveness of German industry, and Germany's attractiveness as an industrial base. Standort Deutschland

limping behind the west. But even east Germany is already in some respects better off than Britain. On average, eastGermans

Instead, it seems that disciplined Germany will remain the de facto European class prefect - imposing lots of rules, keeping

Some common words found in the essay are:
Jobs Vacant, It's German, Grundlichkeit Grundlichkeit, Deutsche Telekom, Hardly Instead, Pfister Germaneconomy, Bernd Pischetsrieder, Leipzig Indeed, Siegmund Engel, Germany Siegmund, german economy, equals neat, 10 cent, budget deficit, deutsche bank research, taking german, hans-jurgen meltzer, east germany, german industry, standort deutschland, building sites, german mark strong,
Approximate Word count = 2327
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)