Category Archives: Germany

German police investigate AfD flyers resembling plane tickets for immigrants

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Karlsruhe police say they have opened inquiry into ‘persons unknown on suspicion of incitement of racial hatred’

German police have launched an investigation after the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party distributed flyers designed to resemble plane tickets for deportation that were addressed to “illegal immigrants” as part of an increasingly provocative campaign for next month’s general election.

People from immigrant communities in the south-western city of Karlsruhe found the flyers in their letterboxes, although it was not immediately clear if they had been directly targeted.

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UK bans German meat and dairy products after foot-and-mouth case

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Import of pork, lamb and beef as well as live cattle, sheep and pigs suspended amid outbreak near Berlin

Britain has banned imports of German pork, lamb, beef and dairy products to prevent foot-and-mouth disease spreading to the UK after a case of the disease was confirmed last Friday on the outskirts of Berlin.

As well as prohibiting imports of ham, bacon, salami and cheese, the measure bans the import of live cattle, sheep and pigs, along with other animals which are susceptible to foot-and-mouth. No health certificates will be issued by Britain for fresh meat from Germany.

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Business confidence falling in UK and eurozone, recruiters warn

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Fears over UK growth and political uncertainty in France and Germany making firms reluctant to hire staff

Recruitment companies have warned about declining confidence across Europe and the UK, as political uncertainty adds to concerns about economic growth.

The FTSE 250 recruiter PageGroup said on Monday that profits had dropped by nearly a quarter in Germany and 17% in France during the last three months of 2024, compared with the same period in 2023. Its UK profits fell by 14%, as companies grew more nervous about taking on new staff.

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AfD launches manifesto as campaign season for German election begins

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Polling for far-right insurgent and its extreme policies is rising but other parties have closed ranks against it despite their weak popularity

Germany’s far-right AfD party has signed off on its manifesto before next month’s critical election, proposing a series of deeply controversial policies on everything from migration to education as the campaign for a new government in Europe’s powerhouse formally kicked off.

The party, founded in 2013, endorsed the far-right concept of “re-migration” into its programme, threatening the mass deportation of migrants if it came to power.

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Two killed and four seriously injured in bus crash on German motorway

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Coach en route from Berlin to Polish city of Szczecin ended up on its side near Prenzlau, north-east of German capital

A bus accident on a motorway in northeastern Germany on Saturday left two people dead and another four seriously injured, police said.

The accident happened on an exit from the A11 motorway that leads to a car park close to an interchange near Prenzlau, north-east of Berlin, German news agency dpa reported. Seven people were slightly injured.

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How Elon Musk has meddled in European affairs

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From bashing Keir Starmer to promoting the AfD, the X owner is not shy about intervening

A limited – at best – understanding of the continent of Europe and its component countries has not prevented the world’s richest man from intervening in the domestic politics of several of them, as well as attacking the EU itself.

Here we take a brief look at some of the occasions on which X owner Elon Musk has used his position as proprietor of one of the world’s largest social media platforms to meddle in the internal affairs of sovereign democratic states outside the US.

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Elon Musk heaps praise on AfD’s Alice Weidel during live talk on X

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X owner and far-right politician appear to agree on everything, as Musk faces accusations of meddling in German election

Elon Musk has praised the co-leader of Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, as he repeated his claim that “only the AfD can save Germany” during a controversial live talk on his social media platform X.

The virtual encounter between Musk and Alice Weidel on Thursday took place amid growing criticism over the US billionaire’s vocal support of far-right, anti-establishment parties across Europe, and accusations he is meddling in the campaign for Germany’s 23 February election.

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Birkenstock sues ‘copycat’ rivals claiming its sandals are applied art

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German maker of fashionable cork-based footwear files three lawsuits alleging copyright infringement

Once sneered at as the preserve of muesli-loving, Guardian-reading hippies, Birkenstocks have more recently been promoted to the status of fashion item, not least since they took a starring role in the Barbie movie. But now cork-soled sandals are facing their day in court as their German makers call for them to be protected in perpetuity – and to be recognised as nothing less than a unique work of art.

Germany’s federal court of justice is to decide on the future of the ergonomic sandal after three lawsuits against alleged copycat competitors were lodged on Thursday by the footwear manufacturer.

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Austria’s far-right leader to invite centre right for coalition talks

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Herbert Kickl’s move could pave way for anti-immigration, pro-Kremlin Freedom party to govern country

The leader of Austria’s anti-immigration, pro-Kremlin Freedom party has said he intends to invite the mainstream centre-right party for coalition talks, potentially paving the way for the far right to rule the country for the first time since the second world war.

Herbert Kickl, whose party won the most votes in September’s election, was tasked with building a ruling coalition by the Austrian president on Monday after the collapse of talks between mainstream parties aimed at forming an alliance that would have blocked the Freedom party (FPÖ).

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German election 2025 poll tracker: which party is leading and who could be chancellor?

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Germany will elect a new Bundestag on 23 February. Find out who is ahead in opinion polls and what coalitions are possible

Germany is preparing for a general election to the Bundestag, the lower house of its parliament, on 23 February, after its “traffic-light” coalition of social democrats, liberals and greens collapsed. The country’s electoral system is highly proportional, so polls give a good indication of what shape of government might be possible after the election.

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‘Don’t feed the troll’: German chancellor responds to Elon Musk comments

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World’s richest man has been voicing support for Germany’s far-right AfD party while insulting its current leaders

When the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, was asked in an interview about the barrage of insults being directed at him and other German leaders by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, his reply was: “Don’t feed the troll.”

Speaking to the German weekly Stern, Scholz described the criticisms as nothing new. “You have to stay cool,” he said in the interview. “As Social Democrats, we have long been used to the fact that there are rich media entrepreneurs who do not appreciate social democratic politics – and do not hide their opinions.”

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German artists sign open letter against TV show host accused of sexism

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Choice of Thilo Mischke, author of Around the World In 80 Women, for ARD’s flagship arts show criticised

More than 100 prominent German writers and artists have signed an open letter refusing to appear on one of Germany’s top culture programmes on public television after the broadcaster announced a new host who has been accused of sexism and racism in his writing.

ARD said in late December it had picked the author Thilo Mischke, 43, to co-present its flagship culture show, ttt – Titel, Thesen, Temperamente (Titles, Theses, Temperaments), after the programme’s veteran host Max Moor stepped aside.

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French and German ministers to meet Syria’s de facto leader

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Jean-Noël Barrot and Annalena Baerbock in highest-level visit by major western powers since rebels toppled Assad

The foreign ministers of France and Germany are to meet Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus in the highest-level visit by major western powers since rebels toppled the regime of President Bashar al-Assad last month.

Jean-Noël Barrot and Annalena Baerbock, who arrived separately in the Syrian capital on Friday, would hold talks with the head of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on behalf of the EU, their ministries said.

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Olaf Scholz: German election ‘will not be decided by social media owners’

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Chancellor’s New Year’s Eve address follows Elon Musk’s endorsement of German far-right party AfD on X

The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has urged voters not to let the “owners of social media channels” decide next year’s snap election, after Elon Musk repeatedly endorsed the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).

In a New Year’s Eve address recorded for television and made available before its broadcast on Tuesday, Scholz said German citizens alone had the power to decide “where Germany goes from here” after the general election on 23 February.

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Berlin accuses Elon Musk of trying to influence German election

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Government spokesperson says freedom of speech ‘covers the greatest nonsense’ after Musk’s endorsements of AfD

The German government has accused Elon Musk of trying to meddle in the country’s election campaign with repeated endorsements of the far-right party AfD.

“It is indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election,” said the government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann after Musk’s X posts and an opinion piece published at the weekend backing the anti-Muslim, anti-migration Alternative für Deutschland.

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Donald Tusk’s Polish revival masks deeper divisions with German neighbours

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Warsaw’s return to the European mainstream with presidency of the EU Council may not be quite what it seems

Germany’s chancellor appears to be heading for defeat; France’s president is mired in crisis. But while Europe’s traditional power duo are in the doldrums, there is a strong, stable and pro-EU leader east of Paris and Berlin – Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk.

For European officials, it’s a helpful gift of the calendar that Poland takes charge of the EU Council rotating presidency from 1 January.

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Elon Musk pens German newspaper opinion piece supporting far-right AfD party

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Billionaire Trump adviser said his ‘significant investments’ in the country justify his wading into German politics

The tech entrepreneur and close adviser to Donald Trump Elon Musk has taken a stunning new public step in his support for the far-right German political party Alternative for Germany (AfD), publishing a supportive guest opinion piece for the country’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper that has prompted the commentary editor to resign in protest.

The commentary piece in German was launched online on Saturday before being published on Sunday in the flagship paper of the Axel Springer media group, which also owns the US politics news site Politico.

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Trump versus trade: the global economic outlook for 2025 in five charts

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Unpredictable change will sweep through America, while old problems, from war to inflation, are likely to afflict other countries

The global economy is entering the new year with rising geopolitical tensions looming over its prospects, as the world’s leading central banks attempt to cut interest rates after the worst inflation shock in decades.

Donald Trump’s second term in the White House is expected to dominate the economic agenda. Global trade tensions are on the horizon as the president-elect threatens to impose sweeping tariffs on US imports.

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Germany’s president dissolves parliament ahead of snap election

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Formal step taken by Frank-Walter Steinmeier after chancellor Olaf Scholz lost confidence vote in Bundestag

Germany’s president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has dissolved parliament and called a snap election on 23 February after Olaf Scholz’s fractious three-way coalition collapsed three years into its mandate.

The national vote will come seven months ahead of schedule amid a rocky stretch of unusual political turmoil for the EU’s top economic power, with growth rates flatlining, industry in crisis and the far right on the rise.

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ECB faces tough task after flip in fortunes for eurozone economies

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Economists say EU countries hardest hit by 2010s debt crisis now in stronger position than France and Germany

The European Central Bank is facing a tough balancing act in 2025 as it tries to navigate a reversal of fortunes in eurozone economies, as the hardest-hit nations of the 2010s debt crisis outperform the traditional core.

Highlighting a potential shift in power dynamics within the single currency bloc, economists said countries in the EU periphery ravaged by last decade’s sovereign debt crisis were in a stronger position than northern Europe’s most powerful nations, including France and Germany.

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