Friedrich Merz's cabinet with the worst start since Angela Merkel's second term.
The good news for Merz is Merkel recovered to serve two more terms. The bad news is it's worse than Olaf Scholz.
Source: Surveys by Forschungsgruppe Wahlen, compiled by
Statista
Hallo 👋 Kannst Du mir kurz helfen? Statt Klimaschutz sollen Milliarden für neue Autobahnen fließen – das gefährdet unsere Zukunft. Jetzt unterzeichnen ✍️ weact.campact.de/petitions/sc...
Ai Weiwei has a good grasp of Germany:
A society that admits to error but refuses to reflect on its origins possesses a mind as stubborn and dull as granite.
hyperallergic.com/1050197/what...
More racist dog whistling from Merz.
On top of migrants mucking up Germany’s Stadtbild, he claims they're a menace for public safety.
Not clear how and why he expects this type of rhetoric to win back voters and shore up perception of his leadership.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
A belated vielen Dank an Jenny für die Gelegenheit über Deutschlands Herausforderungen (und was dagegen getan werden könnte) zu reden.
Bitte reinhören und mitmischen!
Clearly mine. 😇 Merkel's book is an exercise in denial. She had the political capital and chose not to use it. Now she's trying to justify her inaction. 😔
Please support the petition from @finanzwende.de et al to end tax privileges for Germany's super rich.
Let's make change happen and support solidarity.
Jetzt unterzeichnen:: www.finanzwende.de/kampagnen/st...
More in my book with @willwilkes.bsky.social Broken Republik (English, @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social) and Totally Kaputt? (German, #PiperVerlag)
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1526679140
Germans are focused on preserving the present and don't expect brighter days ahead, and so debt is a burden and not an opportunity.
But the mindset creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. Decline becomes inevitable.
That's an identity issue and it's why Germany needs a vision for the future.
Public finances aren't a Schwabian household (to use the German cliche). That was the idea of the "black zero" balanced budgets in the past, which left education and infrastructure trailing peers.
Debt is an investment in the future...if spent wisely. So fearing debt is fearing the future.
@derspiegel is worried about debt under Germany's new govt and says the borrowing will burden future generations.
But that's Germany talking itself into a downward spiral. #GermanAngst
Here's why that's the wrong approach:
www.spiegel.de/politik/deut...
Germany urgently needs migrants to bolster its workforce and fulfill public services, especially finance its mounting pension bill. But it's sending signals that migrants aren't wanted.
@willwilkes.bsky.social and I wrote about the issue for @theguardian.com 👇
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
If political actors show an understanding of people's problems and come up with viable solutions, they would blunt the AfD's appeal.
It should be a competition of ideas and not a battle in the courts.
The problem is the CDU and SPD have limited credibility since they've run Germany forever.
The German govt tried and failed to ban right-wing magazine Compact.
Amid talk of an AfD ban, it shows that fighting extremism in the courts is fraught.
An approach that provides real solutions to the people and addresses their anxiety would be more promising.
www.tagesschau.de/inland/gesel...
@willwilkes.bsky.social and I wrote about Germany's challenges with supporting NATO.
Money isn't the main problem. It's soldiers. Germany's youth have little opportunity, so who would want to fight for their country? Answers need to be found.
www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...
June 17 used to be a holiday in West Germany to mark the deadly 1953 uprising in East Germany.
After reunification it was consider "Mission Accomplished." That was obviously premature.
Check out my pitch for its revival on @Hahauenstein.bsky.social's substack 👇
open.substack.com/pub/hannohau...
Germany is drifting into a Gastarbeiter mindset, where migrants are viewed as labor and not as people.
Without a course correction, it would be a disaster.
Germany needs to approach integration as a two-way street.
More from @willwilkes.bky.social and me in @surplusmagazin.bsky.social
@ft.com.web.brid.gy said my book Broken Republik with @willwilkes.bsky.social offered "a deeply insightful and fresh view" of Germany's challenges.
Check it out for yourself:
www.waterstones.com/book/broken-...
or straight from @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social 🙏
www.ft.com/content/1ff8...
Despite the challenges, it's not too late for Germany.
There's still enough substance that can be tapped to defuse ethnic nationalism and make Germany a nation to be proud of.
More obviously in our book:
Broken Republik (English) - amzn.eu/d/56WqhsR
Totally Kaputt? (deutsch) - amzn.eu/d/hy05nza
Germany's memory culture has failed, allowing Nazi symbols to retain power to provoke and divide.
@willwilkes.bsky.social and I discussed the reasons why Germany is struggling with who it is with the Mad in Germany podcast.
Check it out 👇
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WigC...
Thank you 🙏
Germany was not liberated from the Nazis, it was the Nazis. It has acknowledged guilt, but not accepted responsibility.
These half-measures have prevented the creation of an inclusive civic identity and allowed ethnic nationalism to reemerge.
More in amzn.eu/d/56WqhsR
and amzn.eu/d/hy05nza
Despite Germany's famed memory culture, the Nazi era is an unresolved national trauma. It paralyzes the country and keeps it from being able to evolve and pivot toward the future.
@willwilkes.bsky.social and I wrote about the issue (auf deutsch) for #thePioneer.
www.thepioneer.de/originals/th...
And even more on the inside story of Germany's descent into crisis is in Broken Republik, my book with @willwilkes.bsky.social
www.waterstones.com/book/broken-...
Crazy day in German politics.
Friedrich Merz is officially chancellor, but his unprecedented failure in the first round of voting in the Bundestag will leave a mark.
Even more scrutiny on implementation now.
Yesterday, we laid out risks in The Guardian 👇
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
More of course in our book:
Broken Republik (English, Bloomsbury) - www.waterstones.com/book/broken-...
Totally Kaputt? (deutsch, Piper) - www.hugendubel.de/de/buch_gebu...
For the Guardian, @willwilkes.bsky.social and I wrote about the challenges Friedrich Merz will face as Germany's next chancellor.
Our adopted country needs him to be successful and that means uniting the people, but his instincts have been to divide.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Military airspace rules have hampered the construction of enough wind power to supply a city like Berlin.
The bureaucratic tangle reflects the challenges that awaits Friedrich Merz's new government to revive the German economy. 👇
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Talked about reinventing the "German Dream"...alongside the cloudy prospects for the new government here (auf deutsch) 👇
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrfV...
