Lording it over the shareholder peasants

Not much has changed in German Corporate Governance - Governments of the Left and Right come and go, commissions publish their reports, regulators slumber in their plush offices and collect their secure salaries and pensions (at least no bonuses there!). The farce that just seems to come to an ignominious end with the takeover of Porsche by Volkswagen illustrates all that is wrong with Corporate Governance in Germany - one of the leading industrial nations but still stuck in deep 19th Century ideas of shareholder democracy. The German expression 'Gutsherrenmanier' comes to mind as the most appropriate word to sum up the way that the political and business 'Elites' carve up the control of businesses that are owned by the shareholder community (which comprises not only German investors and savers but also those from many other countries). How is it possible that Volkswagen agrees to pay a price for Porsche that many analysts describe as overly generous and has not been discussed properly with the public shareholders? How can people that have an economic interest in both companies be allowed to be party to the merger discussions? How can a government (The state of Lower Saxony) be part in this questionable arrangement? All we can say: anyone considering investing in German Shares does so at his own peril and should demand an extra premium to be at least partly protected against these shenanigans.