Germany bets on volunteers to fix a hollowed-out army — but will it work?
As troop numbers stagnate and Russia’s threat looms, Berlin is betting on a voluntary service model to rebuild the military — but time is running out.
Helmut Kohl
German parties’ boycott of far right looks to be over — with AfD on course for key jobs
Lawmakers from the incoming chancellor’s CDU party signal an end to the “firewall” that saw mainstream politicians refuse to work with extreme groups for decades.
Moscow is jubilating, former NATO diplomat says, as US considers Russians as equal partners
The Kremlin said in remarks aired Sunday that the United States’s dramatic shift in foreign policy largely aligns with its own vision. FRANCE 24’s Gavin Lee speaks to Joachim Bitterlich former NATO diplomat and advisor to the former German Chancellor …
Germany’s old-school conservatism is well and truly over
Even if Merz stumbles across the finish line and secures a coalition government, the death knell for Christian democracy may well have been sounded.
How Germany found itself holding an Italian election
POLITICO has processed 35 years’ worth of election data to find out why this month’s vote is messier than ever ― and what will happen next.
‘If You Compromise With Totalitarian Systems, You Will Pay a High Price’
In a new book, Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner urges the U.S. and Europe to join together in a “Freedom Trade Alliance” against China, Russia and other autocracies.
German government faces make-or-break moment in shadow of US election
A Wednesday meeting will decide whether a common plan can be hammered out for the 2025 budget gap and the country’s ailing economy.
The AfD has stunned Germany – but this was no surprise victory | Hanno Hauenstein
Mainstream parties should have opposed the far right’s anti-migrant narrative after the Solingen knife attack, not condoned it. In Thuringia, they paid the priceEvents of the past few days in Germany are a chilling reflection of political atrophy and o…
Time runs out for Olaf Scholz
While all eyes are on France’s spot election, Germans too may soon face an early vote.
The Brief – How broken is the Franco-German engine?
Relations between France and Germany have entered an ice age under President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, an unprecedented state of affairs that contrasts sharply with the iconic photo of Francois Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl holding hands…
Biden mixes up Angela Merkel and Helmut Kohl
This is the second time this week that the U.S. president has mixed up European leaders.
The Franco-German legacy of Wolfgang Schäuble is fading
The death of veteran finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble marks the end of the post-war generation of Francophile German politicians and heralds rockier relations for the EU’s Franco-German “engine” as Berlin shifts its focus eastward.
The visionary legacy of Jacques Delors
Anyone who wants to be the former leader’s heir must strive to not just complete his unfinished project but relaunch it with the same personal commitment, rigor and creativity.
Wolfgang Schäuble obituary
The longest-serving parliamentarian in German history, who played a pivotal role in reunification after the fall of the Berlin WallWolfgang Schäuble, who has died aged 81, was a giant of German public life, epitomising the successes, anxieties and obdu…