Does adopting far-right rhetoric help the political center?

[ad_1] 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, […]

Why Germany’s former chancellor has triggered fresh outrage

[ad_1] 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 […]

Germany eyes strongest EU army by 2031

[ad_1] 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 […]

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

[ad_1] 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 […]

Germany in turmoil as Merz fails in chancellor bid: What happens next?

[ad_1] ‘Merz should step aside’: AfD demands fresh elections after failed chancellor vote Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Tuesday demanded new general elections after conservative leader Friedrich Merz failed to win an outright majority in parliament to become chancellor.Merz secured 310 of the 630 ballots cast in the Bundestag (Germany’s federal parliament), falling […]