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☆ Germany's government is on the brink of collapse — here’s what could happen now
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-04 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg, noted that the three coalition partners have been acting "as if they were preparing to campaign against each other soon." Separately, the Green party's Robert Habeck, who is Germany's economy minister, proposed a policy plan to stimulate business investment that was criticized by the FDP. The Lindner paperAnother escalation took place on Friday, when Finance Minister Christian Lindner published a paper about reviving the struggling German economy. "The paper reads like a serious attempt to analyze Germany's problems and propose solutions. A hotly contested budgetA recent key issue within the coalition has been Germany's budget for 2025 — a topic that also features heavily in Lindner's paper.

Persons: Christian Lindner, Robert Habeck, Olaf Scholz, Sean Gallup, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Carsten Brzeski, Holger Schmieding, Scholz, Lindner, Greg Fuzesi, Morgan, Fuzesi, Berenberg's Schmieding Organizations: Climate, Bundestag, Getty, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party, SPD, Greens, Free Democratic Party, ING, FDP, Green, ZDF Locations: Berlin, Germany

☆ German finance minister warns of retaliation if U.S. kicks off trade war
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-25 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Friday warned that if the U.S. kicked off a trade war with the European Union, there could be retaliation. Trade is one of the main pillars of the German economy, suggesting heightened tensions, uncertainty and tariffs would hit the country harder than others. Trade tensions between the U.S. and China, and the EU and China, have been rising throughout the year. Both the U.S. and EU have implemented higher tariffs and on some goods imported from China, citing unfair trade practices. China in turn has also announced higher temporary tariffs on some imports from the EU.

Persons: Christian Lindner, Janet Yellen, Lindner, CNBC's Karen Tso, Donald Trump, it's, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Trump Organizations: IMF, World Bank, German, European Union, International Monetary, Washington , D.C, Free Democratic Party, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party, U.S, EU, Reuters Locations: Washington , DC, U.S, Washington ,, China, EU, Germany

☆ Germany dodges a second far-right win, but only just
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-23 | by ( Hannah Abraham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Germany's Social Democratic Party narrowly beat the hard-right Alternative for Germany in Brandenburg. SPD's win came after a historic loss to the far-right earlier this month. AdvertisementAfter a historic loss to the far-right earlier this month, Germany's ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) party narrowly dodged another blow this weekend. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) is projected to have won the election in the state of Brandenburg, albeit by less than two percentage points. Preliminary exit polls in Brandenburg showed the SPD at 30.9%, narrowly edging out the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party with 29.2%.

Persons: SPD's, —, Olaf Scholz's Organizations: Germany's Social Democratic Party, Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, Service, Social Democratic Party, SPD, Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party, Business Locations: Germany, Brandenburg

☆ As Europe teeters further to the far right, the UK is doing the opposite
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Sunak, who conceded defeat on Friday morning UK time, will likely be replaced by Labour Party leader Keir Starmer. Labour's rise, largely telegraphed by pre-election polls, makes the UK a clear outlier in this year's political shifts in Western Europe. Still, the far-right faction there, Vox, struggled to gain a foothold, with only 9.6% of the vote, down from 12.4% in 2019. Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage on July 3, 2024.

Persons: —, it's, Rishi Sunak's, Keir Starmer, Starmer, Jeremy Corbyn, he's, Germany's Scholz, Alice Weidel, Tino Chrupalla, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Sean Gallup, Scholz, France's, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, FRANCOIS LO, Le, Giorgia, Massimo Di Vita, Archivio Massimo Di Vita, Spain's, Pedro Sanchez's, Vox, Geert Wilders, Nigel Farage's, Farage, Nigel Farage, Dan Kitwood, Richard Wike Organizations: Service, Conservative Party, Labour Party, Business, European Union, Parliamentary, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party, Marine, FRANCOIS LO PRESTI, Getty, Italy, June's, Democratic Party, Spain's People's Party, Party for Freedom, Nigel Farage's Reform, Reform, Pew Research Center Locations: Western Europe, Germany, Berlin, France, AFP, Italy, Europe, Netherlands, Clacton

☆ The leaders at this year's G7 summit look weaker than ever
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewThe G7 summit has long been a showcase of global leadership and power. But 2024's group of leaders appears to be one of the weakest that has attended the summit for some time. French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, US President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the G7 summit. 'Brittle at best'Payne argued that some of the G7 leaders aren't outright weak; rather, they face circumstances that threaten their authority. And right now, the domestic foundations of most of the G7 leaders are brittle at best," he added.

Persons: —, Inderjeet Parmar, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz's, Rishi Sunak, Giorgia Meloni, Joe Biden, Fumio Kishida, Antonio Masiello, Andrew Payne, Payne, Donald Trump, Hunter Biden's, Parmar, aren't Organizations: Service, Business, Politico, City University of London, EU, Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats, Christian Democrats, Social Democrats, White House Locations: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Italian, Ukraine

☆ The rise of Germany's most successful far-right party since the Nazis
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, June 7 (Reuters) - Following are some of the key moments in the rise of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), the country's' most successful far-right party since the Nazis were in power. The party wants Germany to quit the euro and reintroduce the Deutsche Mark. 2015 - The party shifts right during Europe's migration crisis, causing some of the original founders to quit. As the only party to criticise Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy that let in hundreds of thousands of migrants, it sees support rise steadily. 2021 - Germany's BfV domestic spy agency service places the AfD under surveillance on suspicion of trying to undermine Germany’s democratic constitution.

Persons: Chancellor Angela Merkel's, Bjoern Hoecke, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Sarah Marsh, Madeline Chambers, Edmund Blair Organizations: Deutsche, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Germany, Turkey, Thueringen, Russia

[1/3] German parliamentary group co-leaders of Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla attend a plenary session of the lower house of parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany May 25, 2023. In France, the far-right has become a stronger rival at the ballot box, while in Italy and Sweden, they are now are in government. Germany's domestic spy agency has branded the AfD's youth wing "extremist", saying it propagated "a racial concept of society". Some AfD initiatives have won backing from mainstream voters on the more local level. Wolfgang Buechner, a Scholz government spokesman, said he was confident the coalition could whittle away at AfD support.

Persons: Alice Weidel, Tino Chrupalla, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Stefan Marschall, Michael Kretschmer, Friederich Merz, Nancy Faeser, Marc Debus, Matthias Grahl, Wolfgang Buechner, Scholz, whittle, Sarah Marsh, Andreas Rinke, Madeline Chambers, Edmund Blair Organizations: Bundestag, REUTERS, Government, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social, University of Duesseldorf, Christian Democratic Union, CDU, Greens, Scholz's, Mannheim University, Thomson Locations: Germany, Berlin, BERLIN, Scholz's, Europe, France, Italy, Sweden, Nazi, Russia, Ukraine, Germany's, Saxony, Thueringen, Brandenburg, Bautzen

Still, Bremen is the first federal state to hold an election this year and as such, the results will be closely watched. The conservatives are polling in second place on 26-28%, meaning the SPD could win back its pole position in its traditional stronghold. But the Left party is on fragile ground at a national level due to internal strife which could have regional repercussions. That has given a boost to local right-wing populist party Buerger in Wut (Citizens in Rage). It is focusing on immigration and fighting crime and is now polling 9-10%, up from 3% a few months ago.

[1/5] Newly elected Mayor of Berlin Kai Wegner and his predecessor and designated Berlin Senator for Economics and Energy Franziska Giffey look on at the city's town hall Rotes Rathaus (Red Townhall), in Berlin, Germany, April 27, 2023. REUTERS/Nadja WohllebenBERLIN, April 27 (Reuters) - Berlin appointed its first conservative mayor in more than two decades on Thursday after the Christian Democrats (CDU) beat Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) in a repeat election in February, dislodging its centre-left coalition. Kai Wegner, 50, a former insurance salesman, was sworn in as mayor after a vote in local parliament, succeeding the SPD's Franziska Giffey who had been Berlin's first female mayor. His CDU won a clear victory in February's election held after a court ruled the 2021 vote invalid due to irregularities. Critics have accused his CDU party of dog-whistle politics.

[1/4] Chinese President Xi Jinping and France's President Emmanuel Macron meet at the Guandong province governor's residence, in Guangzhou, China, Friday, April 7, 2023. Macron's comments came in an interview on a trip to China that was meant to showcase European unity on China policy, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also taking part, but highlighted differences within the European Union. A senior diplomat from Central and Eastern Europe, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "President Macron is not speaking for Europe or the European Union. The French foreign ministry cancelled a planned debrief on the trip for foreign diplomats in Paris on Tuesday as officials scrambled to make sure they had a consistent message and to limit any fallout with Washington. But even some of those broadly supportive of Macron's agenda lamented the handling of the China trip, in which von der Leyen received a much more muted welcome than the French president.

☆ German coalition government ends dispute after marathon negotiations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A general view as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz holds a government statement during a plenary session of the lower house of parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Christian MangBERLIN, March 28 (Reuters) - Germany's ruling coalition government on Tuesday presented the results of 30-hour negotiations aimed at resolving a spat that has threatened to delay major policy initiatives in Europe's top economy. Scholz, whom critics have accused of not providing sufficient leadership, played down the differences among the parties by suggesting the coalition reached "some very good agreements" but did not give details. Earlier this month Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the FDP delayed his presentation of the draft budget due to coalition rifts. Notably, the FDP wants to rein in spending while the Greens want to invest more in the transition to a carbon neutral economy.

The Greens in particular, but also the SPD, want to invest more in the transition to a low-carbon economy. The FDP on other hand, seeks a return to solid public finances after signing off on hundreds of billions of euros of exceptional expenditure during the pandemic and energy crisis. German coalition disputes are also spilling over into European Union policymaking, sparking irritation among partners. Proportional representation, for example, means coalition governments are the norm, which can slow down decision-making. However singling out just one minister could could result in that minister's party exiting the coalition, he said.

☆ Berlin chooses change in rerun election with clear lead for conservatives
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Riham Alkousaa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/7] Berlin?s frontrunner for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Kai Wegner, for the rerun of state elections reacts at the regional state parliament in Berlin, Germany, February 12, 2023. The Social Democrats, who have governed the German capital in a coalition with the environmentalist Greens and hard-left Die Linke, scored 18.2%. "Berlin chose change", CDU top candidate Kai Wegner said of the results, adding that there was a clear mandate for his party to form a state government. Berlin's left-wing mayor Franziska Giffey acknowledged the election defeat but said the CDU would still need a stable majority to govern in the city. Talk of a possible two-way coalition with the CDU was received with booing at the Greens election party on Sunday.

☆ Jump or be pushed: German conservatives turn on ex-Nazi hunter over race comments
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Once he was Germany's top Nazi hunter. Now the conservative opposition want to kick former domestic security chief Hans-Georg Maassen out of their party for allegedly repeating anti-Semitic and racist tropes. But the long-time member and one-time parliamentary candidate of former Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) lost that job after being accused of ignoring video evidence of far-right gangs chasing immigrants in riots. Maassen, who has always strongly denied charges of racism, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Under German party democracy laws introduced to prevent the re-emergence of dictatorial parties like Hitler's Nazis, expulsion can only follow a series of quasi-judicial hearings to establish whether a member is in conflict with the party's values.

WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The United States, in a reversal, appears to be dropping its opposition to sending M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine and an announcement could come as soon as this week, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Tuesday. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were not aware of a final U.S. decision to send the Abrams to Ukraine, a move that could encourage Germany to follow. Such a decision by the United States would come just days after Washington argued against sending the Abrams, despite demands from Kyiv and public pressure from Berlin as it faced calls to send German-made Leopard battle tanks. Ukraine says heavily armored Western battle tanks would give its troops more mobility and protection ahead of a new Russian offensive that Kyiv expects in the near future. The disclosure about the softening U.S. position came the same day that Poland said it had submitted a formal request asking Germany to allow the re-export of its Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine.

☆ UK says it still wants Ukraine to get German-made tanks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Britain still wants an international deal to provide Ukraine with the German-made tanks that Kyiv says it needs in its fight against Russia but whose transfer needs Germany's consent, British foreign minister James Cleverly said on Sunday. Leopard tanks are seen by defense experts as the most suitable for Ukraine. Asked whether Germany was doing enough to help Ukraine, Cleverly said he wanted to see "everybody going as far as they can, but each country will support Ukraine in a way that is most appropriate to them." U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urged allies at a meeting on Friday to do more to support Ukraine. The Kremlin's spokesman said on Friday that Western countries supplying additional tanks to Ukraine would not change the course of the conflict and that they would add to the problems of the Ukrainian people.

☆ German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht resigns amid Ukraine war backlash
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht on Monday tendered her resignation, amid scrutiny over Berlin's response to the war in Ukraine. "Today I asked the Chancellor to be released from the role of defence minister," Lambrecht said in a statement, according to a CNBC translation. Her stepdown comes as Germany mulls whether to approve an increase in military support to Ukraine in order to help Kyiv's armed forces prevail against the Russian onslaught. "The valuable work of the soldiers and the many motivated people in the industry needs to be at the forefront. Lambrecht, a senior lawmaker in German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party, had faced sustained pressure over her credibility to lead the country's armed forces.

German and Chinese national flags fly in Tiananmen Square ahead of the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Beijing, China, May 23, 2018. German investment and trade in China hit record levels in the first half of 2022 and big business says there's no question of pulling back from the world's second-biggest economy. A spokesperson for the economy ministry said it was closely following the investment behaviour of German companies as part of its strategic considerations on how to deal with China. The economy ministry declined to comment when asked about a meeting next year, or the remarks about Habeck. Reuters reported last month that the economy ministry was considering curbing export and investment guarantees as part of its new China strategy.

If Meloni wins, Sunday's election will hand Italy its most right-wing government since World War Two. German magazine Stern plastered its front page with a picture of Meloni under the banner: "the most dangerous woman in Europe". Macron has privately told EU officials he is concerned about a Meloni victory, according to sources aware of the conversations. rome-born meloni has a history of euroscepticism and shares Orban's anti-immigration views and the promotion of traditional family values. "This kind of 'sky is falling' narrative out there about the Italian election doesn't square with our expectations," one U.S. official said.

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