Ever since the Berlin Wall fell and the country reunited, Germans could be expected to keep budget deficits relatively low, military spending even lower, and politics at a plodding pace. The next German government is smashing all those traditions before it even takes office. Friedrich Merz, the leader of the center-right Christian Democrats and the…
During his first term in office, President Trump described the European Union “as a foe,” established “to hurt the United States on trade.” He repeated the charge at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, but in more vulgar terms: “The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States. That’s the purpose of it,…
The president of Germany’s central bank, which on Tuesday reported an annual loss for the first time in more than 40 years, said Germany faced another year of economic stagnation, more gloomy news for a country that is struggling to grow. “It is not possible to rule out a third consecutive calendar year with no…
Three and a half decades after reunification, a line runs through Germany where the Iron Curtain once stood. Instead of barbed wires and dogs, that line now divides Germans by measures like income and unemployment — and increasingly by the willingness to vote for extremist parties. If East Germany were still its own country, the…
The hard-right Alternative for Germany might not have done as well in Sunday’s election as its leaders had hoped, but its groundbreaking performance was enough for a congratulatory phone call from Elon Musk. Alice Weidel, the chancellor candidate for the party, known by its German initials, AfD, told journalists on Monday morning that she had…
Germany is getting a new chancellor. Its current leader is heading out of power, but his party probably will stick around in a diminished capacity. And the Trump administration’s efforts to influence the vote don’t seem to have done much. Sunday’s election, which came months ahead of schedule after the country’s governing coalition crumbled late…
Germans voted for a change of leadership on Sunday, handing the most votes in a parliamentary election to centrist conservatives, with the far right in second, and rebuking the nation’s left-leaning government for its handling of the economy and immigration. Early returns and exit polls almost certainly mean the country’s next chancellor will be Friedrich…
Germans voted for a change of leadership on Sunday, handing the most votes in a parliamentary election to centrist conservatives, with the far right in second, and rebuking the nation’s left-leaning government for its handling of the economy and immigration. Early returns and exit polls almost certainly mean the country’s next chancellor will be Friedrich…
Now that the votes are cast, the real work in Berlin can begin. While reconstituting parliament is relatively easy and must be done in the next three weeks, no party is expected to get enough votes to govern alone and outright. That means Germany is likely headed for a coalition government — and the process…
Friedrich Merz, the man favored by early exit polls to be Germany’s next chancellor after elections on Sunday, is a conservative businessman who has never been a minister and was forced out of government years ago in a power struggle with Angela Merkel. The leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union, Mr. Merz earned his…