Does adopting far-right rhetoric help the political center?

People protest against a recent comment by Chancellor and CDU head Friedrich Merz (AP) Parties of both the center-right and the center-left are unintentionally strengthening far-right parties by repeating their ideas and rhetoric in a doomed attempt to shrink their support, according to a new study by the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB).The study, published […]

Why Germany’s former chancellor has triggered fresh outrage

Parties of the far-left and far-right in Germany are criticizing the decision to afford former Chancellor Olaf Scholz his own office with a staff of eight — on top of his regular office as a member of the Bundestag.Stephan Brandner, parliamentary whip for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), said he could understand former chancellors […]

Germany eyes strongest EU army by 2031

Johann Wadephul (Deutscher Bundestag) US President Donald Trump can feel vindicated: Germany‘s new foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, said this week that the government had accepted the president’s demand to invest 5% of GDP in defense. Speaking at a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Antalya, Turkey, on Thursday, Wadephul also said Germany would support Nato’s […]

Who is Friedrich Merz? Germany’s New Chancellor elected after rare second ballot

Friedrich Merz, 69, a conservative stalwart and longtime rival of Angela Merkel, was elected Germany’s 10th postwar chancellor on Tuesday after a dramatic two-round parliamentary vote. His appointment marks a return to the national spotlight for a politician who once left public life altogether.Merz secured the chancellorship in a second ballot with 325 votes after […]