The consequences of the energy and economic crisis hit even harder in places where people have fewer reserves and often also lower earnings.
But not only the economic situation is rated more negatively in the East than in the West.
Support for democracy is less pronounced than in the West.
A survey conducted a few days ago by Infratest Dimap shows that only one in three people in the East is satisfied with democracy.
Timo Steppat
Editor in Politics.
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In the podcast for Germany, we explore the question of how satisfaction with democracy and loss of prosperity are related.
Already this Monday, 20,000 people demonstrated in Thuringia alone.
How many will there be when the full force of the crisis is felt?
Reiner Haseloff (CDU), Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, and Bodo Ramelow (Left), Prime Minister of Thuringia, talk about this in the podcast.
Ramelow warns of the emergence of a new "fascist movement" that will also gain momentum as a result of the energy protests. Democracy researcher Wolfgang Merkel talks about the crisis of democracy, which has been talked about for a long time, but which could occur in the event of a recession and a severe loss of prosperity.