Hartmut Schiedermaier, head of an organisation defending the interests of more than 16, 000 professors, sees the reform as McDonald's presented as haute cuisine.

ECONOMIST: German slouches beware

In an effort to salvage the mess, Hartmut Mehdorn, the hardnosed former boss of the German railway system with a reputation for turning around failing corporations, was named chief executive of the airport in early March.

NPR: Berlin's Airport Project Delays Shame Germans

Does Hartmut Mehdorn, the head of Deutsche Bahn whose contract ends in 2008, really want to saddle his successor with the kind of problems faced by Mr Obermann at Deutsche Telekom: shareholder pressure on one side and powerful unions, plus a legacy of state ownership on the other?

ECONOMIST: Deutsche Telekom