There is both good and bad news for German chancellor Angela Merkel. First the good news, she is the chancellor of Germany. The bad news, she is the chancellor of Germany.

An article from Spiegel Online (if true) points to one sector of the modern German existence which shows the depth to which the former post-war powerhouse has fallen:

German doctors are packing their scalpels and seeking their fortunes abroad, lured by the prospect of far higher pay and driven away by stifling bureaucracy in their country's health service. [...]

[Markus] Fröhling has been working in England for over a year, he’s one of 2,600 German doctors in Britain who escaped from the woes of their country’s health service to greener pastures. Away from Germany, the land of bad pay, long working hours, all-encroaching bureaucracy and rigid organization.

Most of the German doctors who emigrate go to the United States, which has taken about 2,700. Britain comes second, according to figures from the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians. Sweden, which has taken 700, and Norway, with 650, are becoming more popular.

When doctors are escaping to the UK and US, which are both viewed as bureaucratic jungles when it comes to the medical field, the atmosphere in Germany must be completely unbearable.