The video raises a question that goes far beyond careers, salaries, or individual professional opportunities: What makes people want to stay in a country, build a future there, invest their energy there, and recommend it to others?
All rights to the video belong to Instagram user @usmanawanog
Germany has many of the foundations required to be one of the most attractive countries in the world: a highly developed economy, strong infrastructure, internationally respected companies, excellent universities, technological expertise, legal stability and a high standard of living.
Yet attractiveness is not created by structures alone. It is also created by experience. People experience a country through countless everyday encounters with public authorities, banks, insurance companies, telecommunications providers, shops, service centres, transport companies, hospitals, universities, employers and many other institutions. In these moments, they form an impression not only of the organisation they are dealing with, but of the society in which that organisation operates.
This is where a broader leadership philosophy becomes important. A country that wants to attract talent, skilled workers, entrepreneurs, students, families and investment should regard the respectful treatment of people as part of its national competitiveness. That includes consumers. Consumers are often discussed mainly in economic terms, as purchasing power, demand, markets or sales. But consumers are first and foremost people. They are citizens, residents, employees, parents, students, pensioners, visitors and taxpayers. The way they are treated in everyday economic life has a direct influence on how they perceive the country as a whole.
A society in which people repeatedly encounter indifference, inaccessible customer service, endless waiting loops, unanswered complaints, rigid procedures or situations in which large organisations appear structurally stronger than the individual gradually creates frustration. The opposite is equally true. A society in which people are treated with courtesy, taken seriously, helped efficiently, informed transparently and given realistic opportunities to enforce their rights creates trust. And trust is one of the most valuable forms of social capital.
This does not require luxury or exaggerated friendliness. It requires professionalism, respect, accessibility, accountability and a genuine willingness to solve problems. A leadership philosophy centred on people would therefore not treat consumer protection as a secondary legal field, but as part of the quality of society itself. It would recognise that people should be treated respectfully, that organisations should be reachable, that complaints should lead to meaningful responses, that mistakes should be corrected quickly and that consumers should not need legal expertise simply to obtain what they are entitled to. Above all, the individual should not be left structurally powerless when dealing with large organisations.
Such an approach would have effects far beyond consumer protection. It could strengthen confidence in institutions, reduce everyday frustration, improve Germany’s reputation among international professionals and newcomers, and make people more willing to stay, work, invest and build their future in the country. It could also benefit businesses themselves. Good service is not an obstacle to economic success; it is part of economic success. Consumers who feel respected are more likely to trust companies, remain loyal, recommend them and engage constructively when problems arise.
The same principle applies to public administration. An efficient and respectful authority does more than process an application. It communicates something about the state itself: you matter, your time matters, your problem matters. That message has considerable social and political significance.
Germany does not need to reinvent itself entirely in order to become more attractive. Many of the necessary foundations are already in place in Germany. What is needed is a stronger awareness that the quality of everyday interaction is itself a strategic national resource. Infrastructure matters. Economic strength matters. Security, education and career opportunities matter. But so does the simple experience of being treated decently.
A country becomes attractive not only because of what it builds, produces, or exports, but also because of how people feel while living there.
A leadership philosophy that places respect for the individual, service quality, consumer rights, and practical problem-solving at the centre of everyday institutional life could therefore become a genuine competitive advantage for Germany.
Perhaps one of Germany’s greatest untapped opportunities is not another technological breakthrough, but something far more immediate: creating a society in which people consistently feel respected, taken seriously, and welcome.
This is precisely where the DE21Jh project seeks to make a contribution. It promotes a form of consumer protection in Germany that is individual, effective, accessible, and designed to strengthen respect, fairness, and accountability in people’s everyday dealings with companies and institutions.
