https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Politicians in the eastern German state of Thuringia re-elected a former state premier Wednesday, with Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling CDU party sitting out the vote after a first try sank it into a deep crisis. https://www.thelocal.de/20200304/merkels-cdu-sidelined-as-left-party-wins-closely-watched-east-german-vote Wed, 04 Mar 2020 18:18:43 +0100 merkels-cdu-sidelined-as-left-party-wins-closely-watched-east-german-vote Lawmakers in the eastern German state of Thuringia will try again to elect a new state premier Wednesday, re-running a vote that sank Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling CDU party into what has been described as the biggest crisis in its history. https://www.thelocal.de/20200304/thuringia-set-to-elect-new-state-leader-after-far-right-vote-debacle Wed, 04 Mar 2020 10:07:29 +0100 thuringia-set-to-elect-new-state-leader-after-far-right-vote-debacle German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives are in crisis mode after regional MPs sided with the far-right in a key vote, causing nationwide outrage and testing her leadership. https://www.thelocal.de/20200207/merkels-conservative-party-in-turmoil-after-far-right-vote-debacle-in-eastern-german-state Fri, 07 Feb 2020 16:47:11 +0100 merkels-conservative-party-in-turmoil-after-far-right-vote-debacle-in-eastern-german-state The new premier of Thuringia has stepped down after he was elected with the help of far-right AfD lawmakers in a vote Angela Merkel called "unforgivable". Here's why this is Germany's latest political crisis. https://www.thelocal.de/20200206/why-germany-is-up-in-arms-over-far-right-afd-backing-for-fdp-politician-in-thuringia Thu, 06 Feb 2020 11:03:37 +0100 why-germany-is-up-in-arms-over-far-right-afd-backing-for-fdp-politician-in-thuringia The premier of Germany's Thuringia state stepped down and called for snap elections Thursday, barely 24 hours after he was elected with the help of far-right AfD lawmakers. https://www.thelocal.de/20200206/thuringia-state-premier-calls-for-new-polls-to-undo-stain-of-far-right-afd-vote Thu, 06 Feb 2020 15:09:56 +0100 thuringia-state-premier-calls-for-new-polls-to-undo-stain-of-far-right-afd-vote He is Germany's fresh-faced political whizzkid, likes to tweet selfies, and shortly after midnight plunged Chancellor Angela Merkel's caretaker government into turmoil. https://www.thelocal.de/20171120/newcomer-lindner-under-fire-for-torpedoing-merkels-coalition-hopes Mon, 20 Nov 2017 17:54:54 +0100 newcomer-lindner-under-fire-for-torpedoing-merkels-coalition-hopes The German constitution dictates that a new parliament's first session has to take place no later than 30 days after the election. But the parties still can’t decide on who is sitting where. https://www.thelocal.de/20171004/deadlock-over-bundestag-seating-as-liberals-refuse-place-next-to-afd Wed, 04 Oct 2017 18:57:29 +0200 deadlock-over-bundestag-seating-as-liberals-refuse-place-next-to-afd For the first time in German post-war history, a three-party coalition will have to be built at the national level. Angela Merkel is used to showing flexibility, but that isn’t necessarily true of the smaller parties. https://www.thelocal.de/20170926/these-will-likely-be-the-conflict-points-in-building-a-jamaica-coalition Tue, 26 Sep 2017 17:11:06 +0200 these-will-likely-be-the-conflict-points-in-building-a-jamaica-coalition Germany's general election brought the pro-business Free Democratic Party a triumphant return to parliament, looking all but certain to became a thorn in the side of both Chancellor Angela Merkel and Europe. https://www.thelocal.de/20170926/young-fdp-leader-talks-tough-ahead-of-coalition-talks-with-merkel Tue, 26 Sep 2017 11:05:45 +0200 young-fdp-leader-talks-tough-ahead-of-coalition-talks-with-merkel Germany's bone-hard stance on Europe's response to dealing with Greece's debt mountain has hardly endeared it to a nation labouring under the effects of austerity that multiple bailouts have engendered. https://www.thelocal.de/20170919/greeks-brace-for-more-merkel-worrying-about-potential-sway-of-liberal-allies Tue, 19 Sep 2017 10:48:31 +0200 greeks-brace-for-more-merkel-worrying-about-potential-sway-of-liberal-allies A week before German elections, the storied Free Democratic Party looks set to recover from a historic 2013 defeat and return to parliament - where it could make Berlin a much more awkward partner for its European neighbours. https://www.thelocal.de/20170918/pro-business-fdp-set-to-bounce-back-in-election-seeking-to-stall-eu-reform Mon, 18 Sep 2017 10:52:03 +0200 pro-business-fdp-set-to-bounce-back-in-election-seeking-to-stall-eu-reform After soaring up in polling at the start of the year, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) are on the way back down, opening up the prospect of a "black-yellow" coalition after the national election. https://www.thelocal.de/20170621/merkel-could-build-coalition-with-liberals-new-poll-suggests Wed, 21 Jun 2017 12:48:02 +0200 merkel-could-build-coalition-with-liberals-new-poll-suggests With Germany raking in more taxes due to strong economic performance, the leader of its liberal party has suggested state officials are enriching themselves at the cost of the taxpayer. https://www.thelocal.de/20170511/the-greed-of-the-german-state-has-become-almost-kleptocratic Thu, 11 May 2017 17:33:16 +0200 the-greed-of-the-german-state-has-become-almost-kleptocratic Keep calm and move to Berlin: thus reads a mobile billboard that's been spotted all over London, sponsored by a German political party. https://www.thelocal.de/20160705/fdp-woos-votes-and-businesses-to-berlin-brexit Tue, 05 Jul 2016 17:40:41 +0200 fdp-woos-votes-and-businesses-to-berlin-brexit Former German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle, one of the country's most prominent openly gay politicians, died Friday, aged 54, after a long battle with leukaemia, his charity foundation said. https://www.thelocal.de/20160318/guido-westerwelle-foreign-minister-dead Fri, 18 Mar 2016 15:39:17 +0100 guido-westerwelle-foreign-minister-dead A poll published on Tuesday shows that at the peak of their tough talk towards Greece, Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble have been earning even greater confidence from German voters. https://www.thelocal.de/20150707/voters-back-schubles-hard-line-on-greece Tue, 07 Jul 2015 17:36:41 +0200 voters-back-schubles-hard-line-on-greece The Social Democrat Party (SPD) have kept their mayoral seat in Hamburg after Sunday's election, but need a governing partner. Meanwhile, other parties further to the right made significant gains and losses. https://www.thelocal.de/20150216/spd-claims Mon, 16 Feb 2015 09:06:34 +0100 spd-claims The appearance of blacked-up charity collectors on national television on Tuesday revealed lingering racist undertones in German culture, an anti-racism group told The Local. https://www.thelocal.de/20150107/blackface-king-fdp-angers-activists Wed, 07 Jan 2015 16:35:00 +0100 blackface-king-fdp-angers-activists After a drubbing in the polls which has seen them wiped out in the Bundestag, Germany's Free Democratic Party (FDP) are pinning their hopes of a revival on a new... er... flag. https://www.thelocal.de/20150106/fdp-pin-revival-hopes-onnew-flag Tue, 06 Jan 2015 14:10:00 +0100 fdp-pin-revival-hopes-onnew-flag Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader Sigmar Gabriel turned Angela Merkel's criticisms in her party conference speech back on her in media interviews on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.de/20141210/spd-leaders-hit-back-at-merkels-record Wed, 10 Dec 2014 09:45:19 +0100 spd-leaders-hit-back-at-merkels-record