US embassy cable - 04FRANKFURT5927

UNCLAS FRANKFURT 005927 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ECON, PINR, PREL, GM 
SUBJECT: Saarland Leader Mueller Lauds Own State as 
Blueprint for National Success 
 
REF: FRANKFURT 0462 
 
1.  SUMMARY: Saarland Minister-President Peter Mueller 
(Christian Democrat-CDU) used the state's June 30 "Empower 
Germany" conference to call for greater innovation and cited 
his own state's comprehensive economic development strategy 
as a model for Germany.  Mueller's American-style manifesto 
includes greater autonomy for universities and the 
development of economic "clusters" within Saarland.  It is 
the M-P's latest effort to publicize his record of reform in 
the leadup to September state elections.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  On June 30, M-P Mueller addressed almost 1000 attendees 
(including most of the state cabinet and Social Democrat-SPD 
opposition leader Heiko Maas) at the state's "Empower 
Germany" conference, Saarland's biggest political event of 
the year.  His speech centered on the need for innovation in 
the German economy.  He noted that while Germany is a global 
leader in terms of invention (with 19.5% of the world's 
patents), too many of its ideas are purchased by foreign 
companies and taken overseas.  Mueller called for an 
economic approach that encouraged new ideas to stay at home. 
The M-P pointed to France's practice of creating "national 
champions" (such as the recent Sanofi-Aventis merger) as a 
possible model for Germany. 
 
3.  Mueller asserted that German business suffers from a 
sclerotic and risk-averse approach that discourages 
innovation.  He cited the recent failure of the 
Siemens/Daimler toll collection initiative for trucks as an 
example, mentioning that the government had spent two 
billion euros to fund the unsuccessful project while 
ignoring a competitive and more practical proposal by a 
Bremen student consortium that would have cost only 1300 
euros.  The Minister-President called German bureaucracy 
ponderous and excessive, noting that it takes twenty-two 
days to open a business in Germany as opposed to only seven 
days in Great Britain. 
 
4.  Mueller called upon German leadership to abolish the 
current system of higher education and "start from scratch." 
Instead of "elite" universities (reftel), he advocated more 
autonomy for universities in selecting their students and 
the creation of interdisciplinary research networks to 
develop new ideas and share information.  Mueller condemned 
traditional "stovepipes" at German universities that 
compartmentalize research and discourage innovation. 
 
5.  Mueller hailed his administration's accomplishments in 
promoting innovation and reducing bureaucracy, suggesting 
that a victorious CDU in 2006 could use Saarland's success 
as a template for national reform.  He noted that Saarland 
had abolished 70% of the "red tape" governing business in 
the state.  Mueller lauded Saarland's flexibility in 
establishing economic "cluster" regions and research 
networks using the state's small size to exploit niche 
marketing opportunities like nanotechnology.  The M-P 
pointed to the EU's designation of Saarland as the number 
one nanotech region in Europe as proof of the state's 
success.  He also observed that Saarland had increased the 
number of employees in its IT sector by 40% since 1999 
(compared with 0.8% growth nationwide). 
 
6.  COMMENT: Mueller's manifesto marked a clear shift 
towards more "American-style" economic ideas, stressing 
equality of opportunity over equality of result and calling 
for a flexible business climate fostering hard work and 
innovation.  He stated at one point that "the strong are not 
here to devour the weak; they are here to encourage the weak 
to get stronger."  Although some of Saarland's structural 
reform began under the previous SPD administration, Mueller 
has succeeded in convincing most of the electorate that he 
is personally responsible for the state's forward-leaning 
approach.  He remains the clear favorite in September state 
elections.  END COMMENT. 
 
BODDE