Esken: Injustices during reunification continue to have an impact

Saskia Esken, leader of the SPD, is calling for more understanding for the critical mood among many people in East Germany. "Injustices caused by reunification are still deeply felt," Esken told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) a few weeks before the state elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg. "The basic mood in the East is that we are being governed over our heads," Esken emphasized.

She also complained that even fewer companies in the eastern German states are bound by collective agreements than in the west. On top of this, incomes are too low. This also contributes to the poor mood in the east.