Germany
From the sublime to the ridiculous
In the Royal Academy’s courtyard are two large glass cases or vitrines containing model submarines. In one the sea has…
Master of alchemy
Martin Gayford talks to a surprisingly jolly Anselm Kiefer about art and metamorphosis
The enigma of Werner Herzog
William Cook watches a new box set from the BFI that reveals the full extent of the German director’s genius – and insanity
High life
Gstaad In this freewheeling Swiss village of the 1950s, the unconventional was the norm and monumental drinking commonplace, but the…
Hitler’s Valkyrie
Unity Mitford at 100
Day by day, we should keep an eye on the trouble spots of European banking
‘1914: Day by Day’, the Radio 4 series by the historian Margaret MacMillan, is a gripping reminder that significant global…
The Spectator’s Notes
The conviction of Max Clifford for indecent assaults feels like a vindication of the jury system, as did the acquittal…
Diary
What a week! I was thrilled to have a chance to confront Nick Clegg but my excitement was tempered with…
Putin’s winning hand
Russia is making the West look posturing, weak and divided
Only Angela Merkel can save Cameron now
British politicians still prize a visit from the President of the United States above all others. Yet no American President…
Man of steel and glass
Modern Architecture, capitalised thus, is now securely and uncontroversially compartmentalised into art history, its bombast muted, its hard-edge revolutions blurred…
The real energy scandal
Politicians, not the Big Six, have jacked up the price of power. And they’re only just getting started
Painting out the past
The discovery of a hoard of lost paintings is a reminder that denial still exists in the German art world
Investment: Britannia über alles
Why the UK economy will one day overtake Germany
Merkel will win – but why?
Germany’s integrationalist elite are prepared to pay out forever to protect the euro
Diary
It’s been a strange summer. After a stroke, holidays are not what they used to be. We went to Juan-les-Pins…
The war on Barbie
She’s loathed by topless German neo-feminists. But isn’t it time to cut her some slack?
