Germany
Boris and Scholz parade the new Europe
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has changed Europe forever. That was the argument that Boris Johnson made on Friday when he…
Germany's progressives have a Putin problem
Eighty-nine years ago this week, the German Social Democrats in the Reichstag cast the only votes opposing Adolf Hitler’s dictatorial…
Is Germany already backsliding on Russia?
Just three weeks after Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Germany would directly arm Ukraine, Europe’s economic powerhouse is running out…
Germany’s attitude to Russia is changing. Does it go far enough?
Germany’s attitude to Russia is changing fast
A new Europe is emerging from this crisis
With every hour that Kiev holds out, the geopolitics of Europe changes more. Germany, which so values its prohibition on…
It’s time for Germany to stand up to Russia
In his novel The Loyal Subject, which appeared on the eve of the first world war, Heinrich Mann, the brother…
The moral courage of P.J. O’Rourke
Was it Socrates who said that chaos was the natural state of mankind, and tyranny the usual remedy? Actually it…
Head of Germany’s army admits: we’re not ready for war
You wake up in the morning and realise: there is war in Europe. Yesterday the army held a ‘Day of…
It's too late to break Europe's gas reliance on Russia
So, Nord Stream 2 will not be plugged into Germany’s gas grid. A little surprisingly, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been…
How the Ukraine crisis ends
Vladimir Putin does not think in the way the West does. Of course sanctions will hurt. But so what? He…
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…
In the pipeline: would Germany side with Russia in a conflict?
Germany’s curious alliance with Russia
France has the most to lose from Britain's turn away from Europe
It was Napoleon who declared that ‘a state has the politics of its geography’. We do well to remember that…
Covid could paralyse the new German coalition
An iron curtain has descended on Europe, and once again, it goes right through the middle of Germany. The average…
The fifth Covid wave could break Macron
The fifth Covid wave has started in Europe. Some governments are already imposing lockdowns and wage cuts for the unvaccinated…
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…
Is the European centre collapsing?
There’s a growing tension in the European bloc between those unhappy with Brussels’s increasing interventionism and by those who feel the…
Von der Leyen is the real winner of the German elections
The bald guy who leads the Social Democrats. The earnest looking Green lady. Or perhaps the guy in the charcoal-grey…
The German elections are good news for Macron
The German election result means that a three party coalition will almost certainly be needed to form a government. Olaf…
Who will succeed Merkel?
The results of the German election have shifted somewhat since last night’s exit poll. What we know for sure is…
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…
Feted abroad, dismissed at home: will Germans really miss Merkel?
As Angela Merkel finally steps down, the verdict on her leadership – at least from overseas – appears to be…