Gayle Tufts

Tufts, who was born in Brockton, Massachusetts and moved to Germany in 1990, has currently exchanged her Berlin apartment for a "cute little house with an apple tree" in northern Germany, where she is working on a new book about the differences between Americans and Germans called "Miss Amerika." In late November, she'll be back in the capital with a Christmas show at a cabaret tent that sits right next to the federal chancellery. "We'll see who's in there when I get there," she said.

DW-WORLD: How is Germany doing in your opinion?

Gayle Tufts: Poor Germany's having a hard time right now. It's holding its head down like a sad sack. It's a shame when bad things happen to good people. The country's just gotten over the trauma of the war -- it really worked hard on that. People have done their Vergangenheitsbewältigung (Eds: dealing with the past). They got through reunification -- who would have ever thought that reunification would have gone so well in a country that's so regimented. Of course it's shocking and the reality of it is now catching up with Germans. Maybe unification with Luxembourg or Italy would have been easier, because people there are more flexible. Germans like things to go the way they're supposed to go. They like their trains to run on time.

What needs to happen in Germany to help speed up the country's recovery?

The situation here reminds me of my older brother, who lives in Boston and has been unemployed for four years. I tell him, "You should have gone to college when you had the chance, you shouldn't have drunk so much beer, hanging out with friends, watching baseball." Unfortunately, something has to change. You can't live in a country with this much unemployment. Somebody is going to break the unions that are so strong here. It's not going to be possible in the global world to have this kind of protection that workers have here. The hope is that there will be people who can do it in a human enough fashion. People want things to be perfect, but it's not going to be perfect. The challenge for leaders will be to find a way to make the best of an imperfect situation.

Gerhard Schröder or Angela Merkel? Who is your personal choice for chancellor? Why?

I can't vote here, so I kind of tend to stay out of it. But I hope people vote, I hope that people who are a bit cynical about what the SPD and the Greens have achieved still go out and vote and don't say, "It doesn't matter." I'm for Schröder. He's a good guy. He's human. I'm all for the menschliche Kandidaten (human candidates). My favorites are (German Foreign Minister) Joschka Fischer and (Berlin Mayor Klaus) Wowereit. I don't know much about (Merkel), but I don't see her as a very warm person. It's as if she fulfills all the criteria -- she's a woman, she's from the east, but does that mean that she's the right person? On the other hand -- the poor woman: There are more things written about her hair than her agenda. I would not want to be in her shoes, whatever they may be.

What do you like about Germany?

I like the honesty. Germans can be incredibly honest and everything is very deep. There are stupid things on television, but the next day you have 12 commentaries in the newspaper and everybody's talking about it. People like to chew things over. I have personally profited from it, it has made me take myself more seriously.

What do you dislike about Germany?

This seriousness sometimes makes me crazy. I want to tell people: "Lighten up! Be a little more friendly!" I miss the kind of laid-back American "How you doin'?" I don't like that people always say "no" first if it doesn't fit into the plan. It first has got to be thought about. I see it in theater. You have to let them know five months ahead that you want a certain type of microphone -- that's the kind of lack of spontaneity that makes me crazy.