Tanit Koch
05 June 2025
Merz can't win with Trump. So why try?
Trump’s disdain for ‘Good old Germany’ is well known. Will the chancellor hold his own on his first official trip to the White House?
Read the full article28 May 2025
Gerhard Schröder isn't doing himself any favours
The 81-year-old former chancellor claimed it prevented him from attending a parliamentary inquiry in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern over his role in the Nord Stream 2 saga
Read the full article21 May 2025
The House of Hohenzollern, a dynasty fit for a Netflix drama
After 99 years, the German authorities and the Hohenzollern family have decided to bury the hatchet
Read the full article14 May 2025
Germansplaining: The battle over free speech
A string of decisions has triggered a wave of criticism – from the public, the media, legal scholars and politicians
Read the full article08 May 2025
This is what VE Day means to Germans
We’d come to think of May 8 as a liberation. The AfD thinks commemorating it is a humiliation
Read the full article06 May 2025
Germansplaining: The AfD extremists
As tempting as the dream of an AfD-free Bundestag may be, banning the party wouldn’t make the anger and fear that fuel it disappear
Read the full article30 April 2025
How Merz can build his coalition
Scholz’s successor will exceed expectations – but only as the bar for the chancellor-designate has been set so low
Read the full article23 April 2025
Why you should visit Heligoland
Eighty years ago, the island was nearly wiped off the map. Today it relies on wind-farm crews more than tourists
Read the full article09 April 2025
Merz's honeymoon is over
Thanks to the SPD, expectations of the soon-to-be chancellor are now so low he can hardly fail to impress once in office
Read the full article02 April 2025
Germany’s embarrassing mobile network
Mobile phone coverage is notoriously patchy due to past policy failures and slow infrastructure expansion, leaving rural areas full of dead zones
Read the full article26 March 2025
Why we need to stop worrying and love the drone
The drone has proved a game-changer in Ukraine’s defence of its country. So why doesn’t the German army have a single armed one?
Read the full article19 March 2025
Merz faces his next challenge
If Germany’s problems don’t get resolved, the extremists could be leading the charge in the next general election
Read the full article12 March 2025
Germansplaining: A tough road ahead
Friedrich Merz's critics are already queueing up long before his new government has even left the starting blocks
Read the full article05 March 2025
Britain's post-Brexit era is over
Thanks to Putin’s aggression and Trump’s greed, the UK has regained its international status
Read the full article25 February 2025
Why Merz must act fast
Despite the CDU achieving one of its worst results ever, the party has managed to keep the AfD out of power – for now
Read the full article19 February 2025
Inside the head of Germany’s next chancellor
The six-foot-six Friedrich Merz tends to look down on people - but his tenacity could be just what a troubled country needs
Read the full article12 February 2025
Why are Germans fed up with politics?
A recent psychological study revealed how the country picks its politicians. The results were nothing short of depressing
Read the full article03 February 2025
The dark shadow of the AfD hangs over German politics
The leader of one of Germany’s main political parties relied on the extreme right wing AfD party to get his immigration bill through parliament. Big mistake
Read the full article27 January 2025
No, Elon. Here’s why Germans can’t ‘move beyond’ Auschwitz
On Holocaust Memorial Day, with anti-Jewish crimes at an all-time high, the country needs to remember more than ever
Read the full article22 January 2025
What our language says about us
This year’s non-word of the year, ‘Bio-deutsch’ (biological German) has caused much controversy
Read the full article15 January 2025
Who will win Germany's immigrant vote?
The number of immigrant voters could reach a peak at this election but this doesn't mean that the Social Democrats, Greens and the liberal FDP will benefit
Read the full article08 January 2025
ARD and Germany's first media scandal of the year
The scandal, which involves toxic masculinity, sexism and cancel culture, asks if this century allows for second chances
Read the full article01 January 2025
Elon Musk enters German politics
The entrepreneur’s foray into European politics and obsession with the AfD is troubling, given his megaphone X
Read the full article18 December 2024
Germansplaining: Happy birthday boomers!
2024 marked a milestone for Germany’s biggest demographic cohort
Read the full article16 December 2024
Scholz loses, and wins the right to lose again
German elections are set for February after the chancellor forced a confidence vote to end political paralysis
Read the full article11 December 2024
How Thomas Mann taught Germans to chill out
First published in 1924, his masterpiece Der Zauberberg (The Magic Mountain) is a highbrow ode to chilling
Read the full article04 December 2024
How universities can avoid cancellation
Academic institutions, such as Leipzig University, must learn how to stand firm and not let intimidation become routine
Read the full article25 November 2024
The return of Merkelmania
The former German chancellor has played it smart again by shrouding her memoirs in secrecy ahead of their release
Read the full article20 November 2024
Misunderstanding Dietrich Bonhoeffer's legacy
Bonhoeffer fought against exclusion and for those who couldn’t fight for themselves
Read the full article13 November 2024
Olaf Scholz cracks under pressure
As the coalition falls, the chancellor was pushed to call an election earlier than he planned
Read the full article07 November 2024
Why the German coalition government has just collapsed
German politics is now a dysfunctional mess and it’s all Olaf Scholz’s fault. With Trump looming, the timing couldn’t be worse
Read the full article07 November 2024
Are ‘trusted flaggers’ reporting hate or erasing debate?
Germany is issuing licences to groups who will report (what they think is) illegal and detrimental content on social media platforms
Read the full article