Germany’s Merz faces dramatic showdown on two fronts amid defence and infrastructure challengesChancellor-designate faces opposition in his own party and a delicate balance in reconvened Bundestag, which must approve measuresThu Mar 06 2025 - 05:00
Germany’s Merz unveils €900bn borrowing plan for security and infrastructureIncoming chancellor Friedrich Merz seeks to shore up defence, infrastructureTue Mar 04 2025 - 19:00
US pause on military aid to Ukraine already in effect as trains are halted, says Polish PMVon der Leyen says Europe is in an ‘era of rearmament’ as Trump pulls back US securityTue Mar 04 2025 - 10:46
Tensions remain as Austria finally gets a new government and Germans start talking about oneFar-right FPO finds itself in opposition in Austria despite winning last September’s electionMon Mar 03 2025 - 19:10
Polish anti-abortion activist ordered to apologise for calling former taoiseach Leo Varadkar a ‘deviant’Kaja Godek said homosexuality was a 'deviation' on a Polish talkshow in 2018Mon Mar 03 2025 - 06:00
Overheard chat on the train showed me the secret behind far-right AfD’s growth in GermanyThe German party’s secret weapon is its self-radicalising multipliersWed Feb 26 2025 - 15:02
Merz warns it is ‘five minutes to midnight’ for Europe amid Trump Nato concernsGermany’s likely next chancellor says Europe must achieve security and defence independence from US Mon Feb 24 2025 - 20:12
Victory of Friedrich Merz’s party brings bleak prospect of headaches and endless to-do lists Uncertain outlook in Berlin as man who is likely to be next chancellor has to convince sceptical voters he can deliver changeMon Feb 24 2025 - 18:43
Germany on course for grand coalition between conservatives and social democrats after CDU victoryFriedrich Merz is on track to be the next German chancellor in election where far-right AfD doubled supportMon Feb 24 2025 - 09:01
Germany faces tricky talks on new coalition as far-right AfD becomes electoral forceA tired-looking Olaf Scholz says that just as the 2021 victory was his, the 2025 defeat was also hisSun Feb 23 2025 - 20:58
German elections: ‘A bad feeling is growing’ as country looks for bridge to better future On Sunday, 59.2 million German voters go to the polls at a time of unprecedented domestic and international tensionsSun Feb 23 2025 - 06:00
Polls indicate German federal election will return Merkel-style coalition Christian Democratic Union likely to finish first and ask centre-left Social Democratic Party to form centrist alliance, sidelining Olaf ScholzFri Feb 21 2025 - 15:34
Sabotaged car exhausts make for unlikely form of election interference as Germany heads to the polls on SundayRussian agents suspected of stoking anti–Green sentiment with vandalism and bumper stickers of party leaderFri Feb 21 2025 - 06:00
Germany votes: Far-right AfD looks to broaden its baseOnce an eastern regional force, the party is building broader support Wed Feb 19 2025 - 20:01
Germany to set up centralised deportation facilities in bid to tackle migrationOpposition politicians denounce ‘Dublin Centres’ as pre-election gestures by a government that has lost control of asylum processWed Feb 19 2025 - 06:00
Germany votes: ‘I have a bad feeling about this election’Party founded to help workers improve their lives through political action and involvement is struggling amid growing resistance among voters to listen and engageTue Feb 18 2025 - 05:00
European leaders meet over Trump plan for talks to end Ukraine warUS view that Europe should not be part of the negotiations sparks alarm in EU capitalsMon Feb 17 2025 - 06:05
Europeans warn of malevolent ‘spirit of Munich’ as imperfect peace talks loom over UkraineApproach of new Trump administration a necessary ‘cold shower’ for EU, says Czech president Sun Feb 16 2025 - 18:00
Taoiseach rejects Zelenskiy call for ‘armed forces of Europe’Micheál Martin says Ireland continues to stand with Ukraine but ‘a European army isn’t on the agenda’Sat Feb 15 2025 - 16:51
Golden rule of Munich Security Conference goes out window as Vance lectures on ‘enemy within’Czech president says European countries cannot be excluded from Ukraine ceasefire talks if they are to take more responsibility for securitySat Feb 15 2025 - 12:20
The Swiss-based ex-banker who leads Germany’s far right: Alice Weidel plays the long game Party officials feel they can secure a blocking minority in the next Bundestag, the point when Weidel will become Germany’s most uncomfortable and unavoidable politicianSat Feb 15 2025 - 09:00
Zelenskiy says peace deal possible only after plan is agreed with US and EuropeUS vice-president JD Vance says European leaders ‘running in fear of your own voters’Fri Feb 14 2025 - 20:01
Munich car attack: eerie echoes of other violent incidents in GermanySuspect (24) is detained after incident at a trade union demonstration in the cityFri Feb 14 2025 - 08:12
German elections: Olaf Scholz denies his ‘court jester’ jibe was racistBerlin’s culture minister says remarks by chancellor were ‘humiliating’Thu Feb 13 2025 - 18:15
As Dresden commemorates its darkest day, some are hoping to rewrite history Far-right parties are pushing a new approach which casts Germans as the main victims of the second World WarWed Feb 12 2025 - 18:19
The fall and fall of Germany’s liberal Free DemocratsAhead of the February 23rd federal election, the party is on 4 per cent in all polls – one point short of the 5 per cent hurdle to enter the BundestagTue Feb 11 2025 - 13:33
Scholz and Merz leave voters unimpressed after televised debateChancellor fails to make up ground two weeks ahead of election dayMon Feb 10 2025 - 13:13
Irish star conductor David Brophy on his big new job in Germany: ‘You only become competent when you’re 60′The Dubliner is thrilling critics at his new musical home in Cologne but he still finds time to worry about Ireland’s cultural capitalSun Feb 09 2025 - 06:00
Has Friedrich Merz, the man who would be chancellor of Germany, really opened the ‘doors to hell’?As elections approach, leader of the opposition CDU presents voters with a centre-right cocktail that is remixed on a daily basisSat Feb 08 2025 - 06:00
After the split, Germany’s Left party goes back to basics in bid to rise againSahra Wagenknecht’s populist BSW alliance falters after its anti-migration programme initially chimed with votersThu Feb 06 2025 - 16:33
Bundestag MPs reject migration bill by Christian Democratic Union and backed by far-right Alternative for GermanyResult was a shock for CDU leader Friedrich MerzFri Jan 31 2025 - 20:44
Eerie silence in Bundestag as far-right AfD sees chink of lightOpposition accepts AfD support for hot-button migration proposalFri Jan 31 2025 - 05:00
As German election nears, Scholz accuses rival of courting populists and far rightChristian Democratic Union leader Friedrich Merz blames chancellor for ‘law and order’ crisisWed Jan 29 2025 - 19:00
Auschwitz survivors mark 80th anniversary of camp’s liberation‘Last milestone anniversary’ will see political leaders, including Taoiseach Micheál Martin, listening to survivors’ voices rather than making speechesMon Jan 27 2025 - 23:39
Holocaust, the 1978 TV series that helped Germany break the silence about its past As the world remembers the Holocaust, some Germans see a period ahead that echoes the widespread amnesia in the postwar periodMon Jan 27 2025 - 14:50
Auschwitz survivors to visit home of former camp commander Rudolf HössMonday is International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death campSun Jan 26 2025 - 17:39
Holocaust survivor: ‘I saw normal people in Auschwitz and I saw sadists there who killed people’As Europe faces a new wave of extreme nationalism, one of the last survivors of Auschwitz looks backSun Jan 26 2025 - 07:00
CDU leader signals radical shift on migration policy following killing of toddlerFriedrich Merz promises a swift crackdown on immigration if elected as chancellor next month following a fatal attack that left two dead in Bavarian city of AschaffenburgThu Jan 23 2025 - 18:45
Italy’s first report on Catholic clerical sex abuse finds more than 60 cases Investigators into Catholic clerical sex abuse warn of ‘dark field’ beyond cases examinedMon Jan 20 2025 - 17:57
Are centre-right parties in Europe opening the door to far-right populists?In Austria, Sweden and Finland, conservative parties are making Faustian pacts with their more extreme opponentsSun Jan 19 2025 - 17:09
Trump’s second coming has echoes of a century ago and Yeats’s warning ‘the centre cannot hold’ Liberal democratic leaders out or embattled in office; the right on the rise ... Trump’s second coming has echoes of a century ago and Yeats’s warning that ‘the centre cannot hold’Sat Jan 11 2025 - 06:00
German opposition leader’s hopes of becoming chancellor hang in the balance as economic plan fails to convinceFor long-time Berlin watchers, the most likely electoral outcome is a return to the Merkel era with another CDU-SPD grand coalitionSat Jan 11 2025 - 04:45
Musk says ‘things will get much worse’ for Germany unless voters rally behind far-right partyBillionaire made comments in live-streamed conversation with Alternative for Germany’s co-leader Alice Weidel on XThu Jan 09 2025 - 21:32
Austrian far-right leader demands coalition talks with ‘no tricks’Herbert Kickl says he is ready for talks with centre-right People’s Party, 100 days after his Freedom Party topped polls in electionTue Jan 07 2025 - 19:09
Angry Austrian protests as far-right leader begins coalition talks Reversal of position by Austria’s president sets stage for nationalist, Eurosceptic Freedom Party led by Herbert Kickl to be senior coalition partnerMon Jan 06 2025 - 19:05
Austrian far-right party poised for power after centrist coalition talks collapse Freedom Party led by Herbert Kickl set to be senior coalition partner after poll-topping election winSun Jan 05 2025 - 19:00
Musicals for grown ups: Stephen Sondheim presents ‘life deconstructed and laid bare, in all its confusion and disarray’Queen’s University Belfast academic Richard Schoch says the American composer’s works are high art that explore the human condition with precision, and remain fresh for each new generationSun Jan 05 2025 - 06:00
As Dublin stagnates, Warsaw reinvents itself as a modern European capitalThe Polish capital has metamorphosed from a grey postwar wasteland to a colourful, citizen-friendly city building for the future with public spaces and metro linesWed Jan 01 2025 - 05:00
Magdeburg city authorities and police in blame game over security breach at Christmas marketLeaked security plan shows original emergency entrance used by driver was to be 4m wide and blocked at all times - but in reality it was 6m wideMon Dec 30 2024 - 18:14
The old order of globalisation may be collapsing – and bringing Germany with itGerman car giants, threatened by Chinese rival, employ 7% of total workforce and contribute about 5% of the annual tax takeSat Dec 28 2024 - 06:00
