Without an economic vision all they can see is a bigger Labour majority on May day

Without an economic vision, all they can see is a bigger Labour majority on May day.May day! May day!As much as anyone, Mr Portillo is to blame.
More from Simon Carr. The Goethe Institute is a venerable and deeply admirable institution that for many years has doughtily maintained a substantial presence in the cultural life of this country. The German government’s cultural ambassadors, the equivalent of the British Council, have in many ways an uphill task in Britain. There is an infuriating prejudice about all things German here.

But the Goethe Institute has done as much as anyone could to combat that. The Goethe Institute is a venerable and deeply admirable institution that for many years has doughtily maintained a substantial presence in the cultural life of this country. The German government’s cultural ambassadors, the equivalent of the British Council, have in many ways an uphill task in Britain. There is an infuriating prejudice about all things German here. But the Goethe Institute has done as much as anyone could to combat that.
In its cultural activities, it does its best to raise awareness of contemporary German writing, art and music. It does its best to remind us of what we have forgotten, that German culture and literature were the richest in Europe, and, given an excuse such as Goethe’s 250th anniversary, cheerfully mount a splendid series of exhibitions, lectures and readings to try to seduce the English away from their monoglot complacency. It’s true that it hasn’t always been as successful as one might wish.

Though it bravely goes on inviting one excellent German novelist after another to speak to crowded audiences, it hasn’t made much impact on London publishers.But in other areas, it has conquered a great deal of pointless prejudice. It has taken time for London to realise how interesting and valuable German art is. If, now, Anselm Kiefer has a major popular following, and Beuys is acknowledged as the single great genius of post-war European art, that is due largely to the quiet work of the Goethe Institute.The core of its activity is language-teaching. You cannot understand a nation’s culture without knowing its language, and at a time when language-learning in schools is undergoing an alarming decline, the Goethe Institute is trying to stop the rot. Its language-teaching is a Rolls-Royce service, justifiably popular and successful; in addition, it does sterling work in conjunction with university German departments and offers resources to the diminishing number of schools that teach the language.So, the news of the forthcoming closure of the Goethe Institute’s offices in Manchester ought to be greeted with dismay. As the result of a cost-cutting exercise, Britain will be left with only two offices, one in London and one in Glasgow.

It is bad for Germany, but it is also bad for this country; I cannot see how it will do anything but accelerate a decline that is by no means inevitable.The German government has decided that the Goethe Institute is over-represented in Western Europe and is closing offices in Britain, France and Italy. New offices will be opened in countries with no historic links to the institute, at Tehran, Shanghai, Havana and Algiers No one could argue that this is a bad idea. But, however desirable it is, I cannot see that it should happen at the expense of Manchester, and it seems likely that all the exercise will achieve is an immediate cost to Manchester, with benefits elsewhere that will accrue slowly if at all.The Manchester office of the Goethe Institute is a popular and successful branch at present. Its language-teaching facilities are well used by adult learners and businesses in one of the most dynamic business regions of Europe. It has taken advantage of the fact that it is close to some of the best German departments in England, at Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield, and has forged close links with them It has a good library and an active cultural programme.

In short, it is the right office in the right place, in a region with a strong history of self-improvement, intellectual curiosity and adult learning.Pretty well all that will disappear with its closure. Cultural programmes will be run from London, rather than initiated by the two or three staff who will remain in Manchester. They will do it very well, but the close ties between institutions in the North will inevitably weaken. The library will probably be dispersed among local universities and be lost to the general reader. Language-learning will not stop altogether; there is a determination that more shall be done to encourage the learning of German in schools, but the adult learner and the businessman will be left to the uncertain provision of adult education colleges.All this, it seems to me, will have a disastrous effect over time on the culture of a whole region. There may be an argument to be had over the level of provision, which may in the end result in cuts in the Manchester office. I am sure that it could make itself felt if it was half the size it is now.