> I don't think of German democracy as very lively.
In comparison to what? Have you ever visited Germany, studied its politics, and looked over its welfare state? There's remarkable amounts of local and regional activism there, a proportional representation system which enables small parties to elect legislators, lots of Left parties to choose from, and even fiery unions like IG Metall (none of which gets reported in the business press, but that goes without saying). They make the US look like the pathetic Second World oligarchy which, well, we indeed are.
-- Dennis