German politics

Germany's coalition government collapses as Chancellor Scholz fires his finance chief

5:45pm November 06, 2024

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner, signaling a collapse of the three-party coalition governing Germany. Opposition leaders are calling for quick elections.

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5 takeaways from Germany's regional elections after far right makes historic gains

6:38am September 02, 2024

The Alternative for Germany party made huge gains in two eastern states, handing the German far right its best results since World War II.

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A German far-right party wins its first state election

2:32pm September 01, 2024

The far-right Alternative for Germany won a state election for the first time Sunday in the country's east, and was set to finish at least a very close second in a second vote, projections showed.

Members of three German parties at the signing of a coalition agreement are (from left) Social Democrats Norbert Walter-Borjan, Saskia Esken and new Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Free Democrat Christian Lindner, and the Green party's Robert Habeck and Annalena

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What you need to know about Germany's new chancellor and coalition government

2:56pm December 08, 2021

by Rob Schmitz

Social Democratic politician Olaf Scholz takes over from center-right Angela Merkel as chancellor to lead a coalition of three different parties in government.

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Social Democratic Party leader Olaf Scholz is the front-runner in the polls to succeed German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

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This Is The Candidate To Beat In The Race To Become Germany's Next Leader

5:03am September 14, 2021

by Rob Schmitz

Social Democratic Party leader Olaf Scholz, the front-runner in the polls to succeed German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is credited for transforming Hamburg when he was the city's mayor.

Tareq Alaows stands in front of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, in Berlin. Alaows came to Germany as an asylum-seeker from Syria in 2015. He launched a campaign to run in Germany's federal election in September for the Green Party but recently withdr

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Germany Grapples With Racism After Threats Derail Refugee's Candidacy For Parliament

6:00pm April 21, 2021

by Esme Nicholson

A Syrian refugee in Germany withdrew his bid for parliament over racist threats last month. The news came in the same week that a German comedian appeared on TV in blackface.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during a news conference at the conclusion of a European Union summit in Brussels, Dec. 13.

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How The 2010s Were Angela Merkel's Decade

7:26am December 26, 2019

by Rob Schmitz

Between the financial crisis and record refugees, the long-serving chancellor "kept a steady hand during a tumultuous time," says one biographer.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel has had to readjust her government's approach to trans-Atlantic relations.

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'Washington Has Become Much Rougher': Germany Is Still Recalibrating With Trump

2:30pm February 27, 2019

by Simon Schütz

Senior officials in Berlin who oversee the trans-Atlantic relationship tell NPR there continue to be concerns about the "German-bashing we hear out of Washington."

Annalena Baerbock, co-chairwoman of the Green party, gestures during her speech at the party convention in Leipzig, Germany, in November.

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How Germany's Green Party Keeps Winning

7:01am December 29, 2018

by Simon Schütz

Formed in 1980, the Greens are now the second most popular party in the country. Much of their success, analysts say, has to do with the worsening image of the country's traditional leading parties.

A wolf in its enclosure at the Hexentanzplatz zoo in Thale, northern Germany.

Wolves Are Back In Germany, But Not Always Welcome

8:02am December 15, 2018

by Martin Kaste

Germany is seeing the return of wolf packs, and with them growing political tension over whether the animals pose too much of a threat.