Why Germany's decision to cut Russian banks from Swift matters
‘The Russian invasion marks a turning point,’ said Olaf Scholz on Saturday as he announced that Germany would break its…
Ukraine is paying the price for the sorry state of Germany's military
The Chief of the German Army is angry. Alfons Mais’s words were coloured by evident frustration when he said that…
Cracks are already showing in the EU's Russia response
‘The EU is united and acting fast,’ said Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, as she condemned…
Is Germany finally standing up to Russia and China?
When German chancellor Olaf Scholz met Russian president Vladimir Putin yesterday, the visuals said it all. As he had done…
Levelling up: don't copy the Germans
‘Germany has succeeded in levelling up where we have not,’ Boris Johnson claimed back in July last year, when talk…
Germany’s diplomatic game doesn’t make sense
Amidst the heavy criticism of Germany’s lack of commitment in the Ukraine crisis, the German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock argued…
How can we keep the memory of the Holocaust alive?
‘If people like me do not proclaim their experiences for others to hear, then future generations will not learn the…
Germany's naval chief has paid the price for Berlin's pro Russia policy
Germany’s navy chief, vice admiral Kay-Achim Schönbach, resigned over the weekend. His crime? Saying something out loud that many German politicians intrinsically…
Germany is toothless when it comes to facing down Russia
Ukraine’s list of demands towards Germany is straightforward: it wants Berlin to stand up to Russia. With tens of thousands of Russian…
Germany's China-friendly approach is continuing under Olaf Scholz
As Angela Merkel prepares to write her autobiography, ‘explaining her key decisions in her own words’, her successor has his…
Father Christmas battles through the Blitz
When the shrill air raid sirens blared their familiar warning cries over the city at 6.01 p.m. on 29 December…
Will Germany's compulsory vaccine plan backfire?
Covid was probably the last thing on Angela Merkel’s mind as she listened to the East German pop tunes of…
What explains Germany's vaccine scepticism?
By the end of winter, Germans will be ‘vaccinated, recovered or dead,’ according to the country’s health minister Jens Spahn.…
Germany's 'day of fate' is a reminder of the country's troubled past
The 9 November is often called Germany’s Schicksalstag – Day of Fate. The date punctuates the fabric of the country’s calamitous…
Why did neo-Nazis patrol the German border?
Just after midnight last Sunday, around 50 vigilantes gathered in east Germany to ‘patrol’ the country’s border with Poland. They…
The horror of tank warfare brought vividly to life
If Joseph Stalin was right about one thing it was his assertion that ‘the death of one man is a…
German voters set for a tense night
The German elections have turned out to be an unexpected nail-biter. Since the exit polls were released earlier this evening…
The sad circus of the German election
The German election campaign has been entirely lacking in substance. Laschet, Baerbock, Scholz: none seem to grip the public’s attention.…
Could a left-wing coalition end up running Germany?
A spectre is haunting Germany — the spectre of the left. As Merkel’s Christian Democrats fall further behind in the…
The Prince of Prussia's Nazi problem
Perched on a mountain top overlooking the Swabian Alps, Hohenzollern Castle, with its picturesque towers, seems like something out of a…
Hungary, Poland and the EU’s ‘diversity’ problem
It is quite something when the self-proclaimed ‘illiberal’ prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, reminds Brussels of its liberal principles.…
How will Merkel cope with retirement?
Retirement sounds pretty nice. The ONS says that pensioners spend an average of seven hours and ten minutes a day on…
The uninspiring choice facing German voters
The gloves are off in Germany’s electoral race. As personal insults are traded and skeletons dragged from their closets, even…
What's the problem with Gareth Southgate's 'war talk'?
War analogies are a cherished football tradition. From chants of ‘Stand up if you won the war’ to the Daily…
What Merkel's visit means for Brexit Britain
Angela Merkel visited the UK yesterday for the last time as German chancellor – the 22nd visit she has paid in…
