Friedrich Merz

The AfD is on the path to power. It doesn’t just want to take Germany in a different political direction – it wants to build a new country

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

He voted against paying women to give birth for you – then paid one himself

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

Losing 5,000 US soldiers is bad for us - but arguably worse for America

There’s something deeply unconvincing about the new German chancellor – here are five reasons why voters here don’t like him

Merz thought he had the answer for how to deal with Trump. But it turns out he didn’t

The German chancellor is in Washington meeting Trump, a man who sees Europe as irrelevant, who supports Merz’s opponents and who is political poison. What can he hope to gain?

Like Trump, the chancellor has also been redecorating. His, however, is less golden glitter, more a nod to history

A throwaway remark about the makeup of German cities started a political row - and then the chancellor made things even worse

The chancellor's policy change will do little to alter the course of the conflict in Gaza. It has, however, alienated his party

From politicians and A-listers to Jägermeisters at 2am, our big three festivals have all bases covered

The constitutional court remains untouched by chaos and is still the country’s most trusted institution

The chancellor's straight-talking has, unexpectedly, boosted his popularity

For now, the chancellor is sticking to policy – if only to keep the AfD in check

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?

Scholz’s successor will exceed expectations – but only as the bar for the chancellor-designate has been set so low

Bitter at the old politics, young Germans saw the far-right AfD as a revitalising tonic. How can the left get that taste out of their mouths?

Thanks to the SPD, expectations of the soon-to-be chancellor are now so low he can hardly fail to impress once in office

If Germany’s problems don’t get resolved, the extremists could be leading the charge in the next general election

It took Ernest Bevin and a fear of Soviet expansion to bring Nato to life. Not even the US’s nationalistic retreat from Europe will kill it off