Tag: Germany

• Wednesday, September 27th 2017 - 07:39 UTC

  Germany's (neo-fascist) protest vote fuelled by extended income gap

  

  By Gwynne Dyer - Angela Merkel’s slogan in her campaign for a fourth term as Chancellor was terminally bland and smug – “For a Germany in which we live well and love living” – but it did the job, sort of. Her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is back as the largest party, so Merkel gets to form the next coalition government. But the neo-fascists are now in the Bundestag (parliament) too, for the first time since the collapse of Nazi Germany.

• Monday, September 25th 2017 - 07:16 UTC

  Merkel wins fourth mandate, but only the hard right and small parties celebrate

  

  Chancellor Angela Merkel clinched a fourth term in Germany’s election Sunday, but her victory was clouded by the entry into parliament of the hard-right AfD in the best showing for a nationalist force since World War II. Merkel, who after 12 years in power held a double-digit lead for most of the campaign, scored around 33% of the vote with her conservative Christian Union (CDU/CSU) bloc, according to preliminary results.

• Thursday, September 21st 2017 - 08:44 UTC

  Merkel heading for a fourth term running, but an extreme-right party is poised to enter parliament

  

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel looks almost certain to clinch a fourth term in the general election next Sunday while a far-right party is poised to enter parliament for the first time since the end of World War II.

• Monday, September 4th 2017 - 07:06 UTC

  Merkel steaming ahead to a fourth term following prime-time debate with her rival

  

  Three weeks before elections, Angela Merkel appeared to powering ahead on Monday to a possible fourth term as chancellor of Germany, after her rival Martin Schulz failed to halt her advance in a crucial televised debate. Sunday's prime-time TV clash had been billed as Schulz's last chance to sway millions to his cause and halt a devastating popularity slide.

• Tuesday, July 25th 2017 - 03:54 UTC

  Prince William tours Germany to reaffirm close links with UK despite Brexit

  

  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been on tour in Germany with a very specific purpose: to reassure Germans that Brexit doesn't mean the break-up of a excellent relationship.

• Thursday, July 20th 2017 - 09:14 UTC

  France's Macron overtakes UK in the league table of global “soft power”

  

  The election of Emmanuel Macron as president has helped propel France to the top of a league table of global “soft power”, while Britain’s score has decreased partly as a result of Brexit. But despite losing points for government stability, enterprise and favorability measured in worldwide polls, the UK hung on to second slot, thanks to the US tumbling from first to third following the election of Donald Trump.

• Saturday, June 17th 2017 - 03:22 UTC

  Father of unified Germany Helmut Kohl dies

  

  Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl died on Friday morning in his home in Ludwigshafen, the Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) announced. The mentor of current Chancellor Angela Merkel and architect of Germany's reunification was 87 years old.

• Saturday, June 10th 2017 - 10:30 UTC

  Europe “ready” to begin Brexit talks sticking to the time plan, says Angela Merkel

  

  Angela Merkel has said she sees no obstacles in the way of beginning Brexit talks as scheduled after Theresa May failed to win a majority in Thursday's UK election. The German chancellor said she believed Britain would stick to the timetable, adding the European Union was “ready”.

• Friday, June 9th 2017 - 10:58 UTC

  Germany and Argentina pledged to fight protectionism and reach a Mercosur/EU trade deal

  

  Germany and Argentina voiced hopes Thursday for a free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur as German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Buenos Aires. In talks with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, Merkel discussed bilateral commerce and efforts to strike a deal with the Mercosur grouping of South American countries.

• Thursday, June 8th 2017 - 06:46 UTC

  German nuclear energy utilities victory: top court declares tax on fuel rods illegal

  

  Germany's energy utilities look set to receive refunds of billions of euros after the government's tax on their use of nuclear fuel rods was declared illegal by the country's top court. Between 2011 and 2016, nuclear power operators made payments of more than 6bn euros to the government. The Constitutional Court has ruled the tax was “unconstitutional and void”.