German politics is a mess
The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in parliament yesterday. It’s almost certain now that Germans will head…
Olaf Scholz’s dreams of election victory are wishful thinking
Three years ago today, Olaf Scholz was sworn in as Germany’s chancellor. He had narrowly won the election by presenting…
Why are Germans happy to continue paying a dog tax?
Local authorities in Germany are making more money than ever from dogs – or their owners to be precise. The…
Germany and the fuss over the ‘idiot’s apostrophe’
‘Now it’s official,’ the German press lamented, ‘the idiot’s apostrophe is correct.’ The Council for German Orthography, the body that…
Banning Germany’s AfD won’t make it disappear
The opening of a regional parliament doesn’t usually make for edge-of-the-seat politics. But in the German state of Thuringia, the…
Germany’s immigration crackdown will heap pressure on Brussels
In a drastic move to curb illegal immigration, the German government has announced that it will tighten controls on its…
The remarkable success of the Allied occupation of Germany
‘We came as adversaries, we stayed as allies, and we leave as friends,’ British prime minister John Major told crowds…
Olaf Scholz’s immigration quagmire
Shock quickly turned to anger in Germany when a Syrian asylum seeker was arrested for the brutal knife attack in…
Has Germany run out of money to give to Ukraine?
Germany is Ukraine’s biggest military donor in Europe. On paper, it appears determined to ensure that Vladimir Putin’s act of…
Germany will regret cutting Ukraine aid
It wasn’t so long ago that the German chancellor Olaf Scholz tried to convince fellow European leaders to do more…
The Euros couldn’t come at a worse time for Germany
Like many Germans, I remember the summer of 2006 with fondness. We hosted the football World Cup, and for a…
It feels like the social order is crumbling in Germany
I’ve been in and out of Germany a lot in recent months, and it’s hard not to gain the impression…
Germany was right to take the Reichsbürger threat seriously
Germany is in the grip of one of the most extensively covered courtroom dramas in recent memory. On trial is…
Russia is failing to undermine German morale on Ukraine
The news that German police have arrested two alleged Russian spies in Bavaria has understandably raised some alarm bells in…
Germany’s Holocaust dilemma
‘In 2024, Jewish money is once again being confiscated by a German bank’. This is a headline that makes for uncomfortable reading…
How Germany became a security liability
There were lots of smiles and some awkward football banter when German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock met her British counterpart…
Germany’s anti-AfD marches are backfiring
The rise of Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has set off one of the largest waves of protest in modern German…
What a secret far-right meeting reveals about the AFD
It sounds like a scene from a dystopian TV drama: in a country hotel west of Berlin, far-right politicians met…
Can Scholz convince the EU to continue supporting Ukraine?
New Year’s resolutions are notoriously difficult to keep. But when it comes to Ukraine, Europe hasn’t made any. There is…
Why German farmers are taking on the ruling coalition
He wanted to get away from it all. The splendid solitude of the tiny North Sea island of Hooge was…
Can things get any worse for Olaf Scholz?
A ‘smurf’, a ‘plumber’, a ‘know-it-all’: Olaf Scholz has been called many things. But so far Germany’s chancellor has brushed…
Germany’s Reichsbürger movement is anything but a joke
They don’t believe the German state exists, they make their own passports and they want the German monarchy restored. It’s…
Can Germany’s ‘Rwanda-style’ migrant plan keep the AfD at bay?
Germany is facing one of the greatest political upheavals in its modern history. Polls indicate that the ruling coalition would…
‘The truth will make us free’: students on the march in post-war Europe
The radical Rudi Dutschke in 1960s Berlin and the angry Johnny Rotten in 1970s London are just two of the charismatic figures in this history of youth activism
A doomed democracy
Despite its democratic ideals and artistic creativity, 1920s Germany lacked both the flexibility and social cohesion necessary for functional politics, says Frank McDonough
