Leaders say ‘danke schön’ at Merkel’s farewell party with surprise appearance from Obama Angela Merkel was given a big farewell party by European leaders last night, with former US president Barack Obama making a cameo video appearance. Attending her 107th EU summit, Merkel was feted by friends and foes alike in an informal ceremony behind closed doors, where she was called everything from a “compromise machine” to the [...]
D-Day in Germany: End of the Merkel era as Germans go to the polls in three-way battle End of the Merkel era as Germans go to the polls in three-way contest As polls have opened in Germany and election day has begun for just over 60m eligible voters, Europe’s largest economy is seeing its first three-way contest for the chancellery as the environmentalist Greens join the country’s two traditional big parties in fielding a candidate for the top job. The Social Democrats’ candidate, Olaf Scholz, is [...]
Russia blamed by German foreign ministry for parliament cyber attack Russia blamed by German foreign ministry for parliament cyber attack Russia is responsible for a cyber attack on Germany parliament, a spokesperson for the country’s foreign ministry has said today. The attacks come ahead of Germany’s parliamentary election on 26 September, which will see chancellor Angela Merkel depart the helm, and could have prompted the string of violations. The spokesperson, Andrea Sasse, added that a [...]
Merkel ‘deeply shocked’: Germany’s new ambassador to China dies suddenly September 6, 2021 Diplomatic circles across China and the wider APAC region are in shock as Germany’s brand new ambassador to China has suddenly died at the age of 54, the German foreign ministry said this morning. The ministry announced Jan Hecker’s “sudden death” in a short statement in the early hours of today. It did not give [...]
Analysis: Last German state election could provide clues to Bundestag poll itself June 8, 2021 What does the last state election before Germany’s Bundestag poll tell us about the future of the country’s politics – and the EU? German historian and sociologist Rainer Zitelmann takes a look. On Sunday, elections were held in Saxony-Anhalt – one of the five former East German states. The election had long been the subject [...]
Germany hits back at US patent waiver proposal for Covid-19 vaccines May 7, 2021 Germany has rejected the Covid-19 vaccine patent proposal today, urging that production capacity is key to boosting vaccine output. The country’s health minister said the primary challenge to increasing production volumes of vaccines is quickly and effectively transferring technology. “The main issue is not patent protection but production capacity,” Jens Spahn, said at a news [...]
UK to focus on vaccinating adults before offering surplus shots, minister says March 30, 2021 Business minister Kwasi Kwarteng has said this morning the UK will focus on vaccinating its adult population before offering surplus doses to neighbouring countries. More than 30m people have been given at least one shot of the vaccine so far in the UK’s largest inoculation programme to date. The UK has aimed to offer all [...]
Germany to double net borrowing for 2021 after suspending budget rule November 27, 2020 Germany will double its initially planned borrowing for 2021 to help finance businesses hit hard by the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, lawmakers said Friday morning. The parliamentary budget committee has agreed to a debt of €180bn (£160bn), almost twice the originally planned €96bn (£85bn). This is the second largest amount of net borrowing [...]
German consumer confidence slumps amid second wave of coronavirus November 26, 2020 German consumer confidence halved in November, as the economy felt the weight of a second nationwide lockdown. Chancellor Angela Merkel last night announced that “lockdown-lite” measures will extend until 20 December, after the country yesterday recorded its highest daily death rate, which rose by 410 in 24 hours. GfK, Germany’s largest market research institute, found [...]
Germany to enter four-week lockdown from November October 28, 2020 Germany will enter a four-week lockdown from 2 November, Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed today. Pubs, bars and restaurants across the country will shut for one month, while all inter-household mixing will be banned. Gyms, cinemas and theatres will also shutter for four weeks, as Merkel scrambles to contain a second wave sweeping across the nation. [...]