Germany

The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged mainstream parties not to side with the far-right Alternative for Germany ‘AfD’ party.  

Alternative for Germany (AfD), comes first in the state of Thuringia as mainstream parties pledge to keep the populist far-right party out of office.

Britain and Germany will start work on a “bilateral cooperation treaty” to deepen relations across a range of topics from migration to defence and trade. Unlikely to radically change existing British-German positions, both leaders hope it might at least provide an economic boost. 

Officials in Germany say they believe it is terrorism – as police hunt for an attacker who killed a 56 year-old woman and two men aged 57 and 67 at a city festival. 

German authorities say an alleged former member of the disbanded left-wing Red Army Faction group has been arrested after more than 30 years on the run.

The Russian president Vladimir Putin has claimed “a real war has been unleashed again” against his country – at a distinctly scaled back parade through Moscow’s Red Square, marking the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s surrender. Mr Putin used the occasion to justify Russia’s war in Ukraine – flanked by a handful of leaders from former…

Germany’s foreign minister says she wouldn’t ‘stand in the way’ of Poland sending Ukraine advanced German-made tanks, which the Ukrainians believe will give them the upper hand against Russia on the battlefield. Berlin must give the green light for other countries to export the Leopard 2, something it had been unwilling to do until now…

German police have arrested 25 members and supporters of a far-right organisation that they say was plotting to overthrow the state and install an alternative government led by a German aristocrat. 

Our Europe Editor Matt Frei looks at the reasons why Germany’s past means it is more hesitant to fully commit to a European conflict – and whether that will finally change as this war drags on.

Many have made their way further into Europe after crossing the border, seeking refuge in countries such as Germany which is taking in around ten thousand people a day.

We were joined by the German MEP Dietmar Köster, who’s from the Social Democrats and is a member of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs committee.

From Switzerland, we spoke to Professor Matt Qvortrup, who has written Angela Merkel’s biography.

Angela Merkel has done something rather rare in European politics these days. 

We spoke to Pauline Brünger, a student and climate activist, who was among the organisers of the Fridays for Future demonstrations across Germany, and Marina Weisband, a political activist and author who first arrived in Germany as a refugee from Ukraine.

Oktoberfest has been downsized thanks to Covid, but German politics has gone into full and final gear before Sunday’s election.