Germany – Dr Oliver Hartwich

How Germany’s political failures enabled Putin’s war

white concrete building during night time

Yes, “harder years, tough years” are coming for Germany. But they could be all the harder because the country’s leadership still is not ready to acknowledge its past failures or to apply the lessons to its future policy settings. [...]

Germany faces a new kind of cold war this winter

The Ukraine war has triggered an almighty political, social and economic catastrophe for Germany. It is not on the scale of a hot war, but the maximum havoc an enemy could inflict without military force. [...]

Germany is stumbling towards an uncertain future

Instead of facing up to the many painful realities, the Germans are still clinging on to some weird rituals – such as filling their ‘summer hole’ with a staged debate. [...]

The foreign policy lessons NZ should learn from Germany

brown and orange house with outdoor plants

When it comes to their foreign policy issues, you might not think Germany and New Zealand have much in common. But the parallels in both countries’ international positioning are astonishing. [...]

Old German habits of bureaucratic and political incompetence die slowly

The more things change, the more they stay the same. This is how Germany’s foreign and defence policy appears these days. [...]

Decades of pacifism gone in a day

four soldiers carrying rifles near helicopter under blue sky

Germany has elevated security to the top of its political agenda. And it has finally dumped the weak, amoral, and irresponsible foreign policy of the Merkel years. [...]

Social insurance lessons from Germany

Would we really like to end up with an arrangement that puts a massive wedge between people’s gross and net incomes? A system, by the way, that also harms employment outcomes, especially for the most vulnerable? [...]

A magic dwells in every platitude

The best thing about the German coalition document is that it shows the three parties are able to work together. Though not magical, it is a good start. [...]

The end of the Bundesbank era

With Jens Weidmann’s imminent departure, the ECB will lose its most hawkish governor. The move will also symbolise the ECB’s transition into a less stability-oriented institution – right when high inflation expectations in Europe are taking hold. [...]

Generation Lockdown

There is a major surprise hidden in the overall result of the German elections. That surprise lies in the voting behaviour of first-time voters. [...]