Germany – where political rebellion has become fashionable again
Friedrich Merz doesn’t have a plan for government or any leadership skills – but what he does have is a PR nightmare on his hands, all of his own making
Does Giorgia Meloni really want more Italians shooting each other?
The case of a jeweller in Piedmont who killed two burglars has caused huge debate across Italy. Will the PM exploit it for her own political gain?
The miserable triumph of Bernard Arnault, richest man in Europe
For all the success, the billions and the international fame, the boss of LVMH is revealed as a man made miserable by his own success
Germansplaining: How do we get rid of the Nazi day-trippers?
The problem of the house where Hitler was born has finally been solved – but it cost a lot of money
Does this extraordinary Dutch community hold the secret to a good life with dementia?
The De Hogeweyk project offers a normal life for elderly sufferers. But sceptics call it a dystopian Truman Show
What Andy Burnham can learn from, er… Marine Le Pen?
Yes, her party and policies might be morally repulsive, but Le Pen is a canny operator, especially when it comes to one part of the political game
Why Merz had to ditch surrogacy hypocrite Jens Spahn
He voted against paying women to give birth for you – then paid one himself
Our national character melts in the heat
Germans used to be against air conditioning. Not any more
The EU’s Burnham question – is the new PM worth the risk?
Andy Burnham is pro-EU and politicians across the continent know it. The issue is whether he will last long enough to change British views on Europe
France, Germany, Britain: which one’s in the deepest shit?
Surprisingly perhaps, of the three Britain gives the least cause for pessimism – but the political threats from Germany and France are deeply worrying
The activists trying to save cinema, one screen at a time
Over 2,500 of Italy’s cinemas have closed since the pandemic. But a group of film enthusiasts has a plan to turn things around
Le Pen’s rift with Bardella could wreck her run for power
Open warfare between supporters of the far right rivals has turned the National Rally party into an episode of Succession
Le Pen may have made an even bigger blunder than Farage
France’s far right presidential candidate could end up campaigning while wearing an electronic tag
Ed van der Elsken, the man who shot the soul of Amsterdam
The photographer documented a city’s outsiders with wit and tenderness
Germany tried to introduce a sick note revolution – it failed
The chancellor decided that too many Germans were skiving, so he tried to change the rules. But it didn’t work
No, the UK is not turning into Italy
Italian politics has never looked so stable. If anything, people there are much more worried about turning into us
Paris’s bridge of sighs: When the world’s largest artwork met the weather
Visiting JR’s La Caverne du Pont Neuf, the installation a storm couldn’t stop
Why Diogo Jota will always be Liverpool’s number 20
His final goal captured everything fans loved about the man who called himself ‘a small guy from Gondomar’
Goal, wicket, frame: What’s behind the multiple meanings of sports terms?
Exploring sporting polysemy – the cases where a single word has several different, even if often related, meanings
Trump ‘humiliates’ Meloni – and her popularity soars
The Italian prime minister did what almost no other western leader has dared to do: when Trump, attacked her, she fought back
Burnham’s biggest problem – UK leftists parroting Putin’s lies
Russia is losing the war in Ukraine, so the Kremlin is boosting its disinformation campaign. Unfortunately for the next PM, the British left are falling for it
The politics of air conditioning
As a killer heatwave grips France, an argument over air conditioning has become so fierce that it could sway the national political mood.
The birth of tropical Europe
For Europe’s farmers, longer and hotter summers contribute to the region’s biggest problem of all
Alpine divorce and the dangers of falling for a bastard
A new, alarming online trend has begun to shed light on the harshest relationship lesson of all – that when one partner walks away, the other can be left helpless, lost and alone
Ten years of Brexit: The lessons of a low, dishonest decade
Build coalitions, revive internationalism and join – not rejoin – the EU. But be prepared to question your own assumptions, too
The Brexit experiment failed – now the EU needs Britain back
The EU that Britain left no longer exists. Now, much of Europe wants Britain to help bolster the bloc against the US and China. It’s time for the UK to abandon its failed experiment and to re-engage
Germany’s new national obsession: Checking if grandad was a Nazi
A list of Hitler’s party members is now searchable – but files that might embarrass the postwar elite remain stubbornly out of reach
My journey to see what makes the Finns so happy
The Nordic nation has been named the ‘happiest country in the world’ for the last eight years. Why?
The broken bridge that sums up Germany’s attitude to its crumbling infrastructure
Decades of neglect have left road, railway and energy repair facing an investment gap of £400 billion
Putin’s dirty war comes to Romania
A Russian drone crashed into a residential area in a Romanian border town. What came next was even more worrying
When the Sudeten Germans went to Brno
The populists hated it and the liberals welcomed them. But the lesson from the events in the Czech Republic is clear – that all human tragedies are worthy of remembrance
Whatever happened to the Brexiteers?
In 2016 Britain voted to remain in the EU, which meant the poor eurosceptics all had to rebuild their careers from scratch. Here is the story of what happened to them all
How Na Hong-jin’s Hope brought glory to a second-best Cannes
The monster movie stood out at a festival full of three-star films
When the Guardian was offended by television
The curious history of language purists hating ‘mongrel’ words
Angela Merkel – Germany’s back seat driver
Merz is trying his best, but his approval ratings are now in the dirt. To make things worse, he’s now being offered a steady stream of advice, almost all of it unwanted
Inside the EU’s crisis war room
A hidden Brussels unit plans the continent’s disaster response – and citizens want it to do more, not less
Putinism has failed, and a new kind of threat has arrived
More than a million Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in Putin’s war in Ukraine. But he cannot back off. Instead, he will switch tactics. Ukraine – and the west – must be ready
The ghost of Willy Brandt has some lessons for Labour
Germany’s once-powerful SPD is crippled by caution – Starmer and his possible successors must take note
Imagine this Lennon film doesn’t exist
AI slop wrecks a compelling final interview, but Cantona, Full Phil and Paper Tiger stand out at Cannes
The washed up revolutionaries’ favourite side-hustle? Armed robbery
A German court has heard a story of hardcore politics, shootings and hold-ups. The accused denies all charges, but doesn’t seem moved by the suffering of the victims.
The far right declares war on Kylian Mbappé
In a Vanity Fair interview, the star footballer said he was worried by the rise of the hard right. The result was a wave of race-baiting, and the return of the big Le Pen lie: that unless you’re white, you’re not really French
Overtourism is killing Rome
You can’t walk up the Spanish Steps, there’s nowhere to park and most sacreligiously of all, pre-cooked pasta dishes are now on display to lure tourists. Is the Eternal City on the verge of falling to the visiting hordes?
This is Putin’s most transparent move so far
Donald Trump sends friends and family round the world to negotiate on his behalf – is it any surprise that Putin should do the same?
Sausages, beer and bread for £3: The Tbilisi cafe you can’t miss
The city is getting shinier, but a diner with no name remains one of its highlights
How Britain blundered in the first refugee crisis – 340 years ago
French Protestants came in search of religious freedom. Then the Glorious Revolution changed everything
The city that made Mark Rothko
A 1950 visit to Florence inspired the artist’s greatest work. Now he’s back in the places that changed him
Steve McQueen has released a book of flower photos – but it’s so much more than that
The Oscar-winner’s Bounty is a subversively beautiful work about the ugliness of colonialism
Orbán left a poisonous legacy. Can Magyar fix Hungary?
Péter Magyar has a huge challenge ahead of him to repair the catastrophic damage done to Hungary by Viktor Orbán. The first job is to clear out all of his corrupt cronies
Trump’s Germany troop tantrum is a self-destructive mess
Losing 5,000 US soldiers is bad for us – but arguably worse for America
A royal warning for Charles in Washington
Charles and Camilla aren’t the only royals to have visited the Trump White House – and though Charles’s speech went down well in the UK, the MAGA faithful will no doubt see it very differently