Nearly two-thirds think they are treated as second-class citizens and three-quarters feel disadvantaged compared with Wessis.

ECONOMIST: But eastern and western Germany may never quite meet

With German unification, the waterfront mansions acquired rich new occupants, many of them Wessis who saw the path as their private property.

ECONOMIST: A revealing argument about a footpath

Many Wessis, tempted by cheaper labour, the chance to ignore red tape and fat government incentives to invest in the former east, have moved their businesses across the old line.

ECONOMIST: Germany

There are still clashes between Wessis and Ossis.

ECONOMIST: Germany

So they should be, grumble Wessis (westerners).

ECONOMIST: Germany��s east