Tag: Germany

• Monday, November 20th 2017 - 08:21 UTC

  Tax and migration disputes impede Merkel from forming a coalition government

  

  Talks on forming a coalition government in Germany have collapsed after the free-market liberal FDP pulled out. FDP leader Christian Lindner said there was no “basis of trust” with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the Greens.

• Wednesday, November 1st 2017 - 08:17 UTC

  Germany marks the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation

  

  A special religious service is being held in the German town of Wittenberg to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. On this day, 31 October, in 1517, Martin Luther is said to have nailed 95 theses to the door of All Saints' Church in the town.

• Friday, October 6th 2017 - 08:13 UTC

  German Industries tells members to prepare “for a very hard Brexit”

  

  German companies with a presence in the UK should be planning for a “very hard Brexit”, Germany's biggest industry body has warned. German industry looked “with concern” at the progress of the Brexit talks, said the boss of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Joachim Lang. Britain “is lacking a clear concept despite talking a lot,” he added.

• 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.