In Unterlüß, Lower Saxony, Europe’s largest ammunition factory began production last week. What started clandestinely is now being publicly scaled with full firepower: the European Union is building its own war economy.
In the good old days in Germany, recessions were typically masked by state-funded infrastructure programs. The concept worked as long as the state did not overgrow, overregulate, or force the private sector into a destructive ideological agenda, as is the case with the green transformation. In other words, the economy was always able to clear away the debris left behind by the state.
Southern Europe Could Never Recover
In Southern Europe, where the state’s role has traditionally been high, monetary policy generous, and handling of public funds notoriously lax, this policy left nothing but infrastructure ruins and industrial wastelands. Local economies were never able to productively absorb the artificial credit distributed by Brussels. The fatal consequences of this pseudo-boom still shape the landscape today.
For economic historians, present-day Europe has long been a fascinating case study. Crisis followed crisis, with the public sector intervening each time with increasing volume. The attempt to install the Green Deal, a Keynesian pseudo-economy, must be understood in this context. The new Rheinmetall plant fits into this narrative.
The company invested half a billion euros to provide an annual capacity of up to 350,000 rounds by 2027. 500 new jobs are to be created, celebrated by politicians as a turning point and the beginning of a pan-European defense architecture.
Ceremony and Half-Truths
Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger expressed satisfaction: “It was not easy for us to invest half a billion without orders. I am very grateful to you” — the words were directed at Defense Minister Boris Pistorius — “for keeping your handshake agreements. You are a man of word and deed.” A heavy dose of pathos and self-congratulation is evident here — politics and the defense industry are long intertwined.
Of course, this is only half the truth. Beyond the usual behind-the-scenes deals, politics has made it clear that it is ready to mobilize all means to build a German defense industry and provide sector companies with guarantees and subsidies where necessary. Big business, no risk.
After the collapse of the green economy, politics is now betting everything on the next pseudo-economy. The aim is to loosen dependence on America while exploiting the media spin that stylized Vladimir Putin’s Russia over years as a potential European invader. Whether this fear campaign will work in the long term remains to be seen.
Hellbound and Down 