Germany

While American and Israeli jets were bombing Tehran last Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron stood before nuclear submarines at the Île Longue naval base in Brittany.

Let me state this clearly at the outset: I have never placed a bet on a greyhound. I have never owned a greyhound. If I were a dog, I would likely prefer a soft sofa to a hard track.

It is strange to observe a nation act irrationally and against its own interests. Stranger still when that nation is your own.

The annual public hearing of Germany’s intelligence chiefs is normally a tedious affair. Bureaucrats read prepared statements. Politicians ask predictable questions. And nothing much happens.

Treasury has released a new warning about New Zealand’s fiscal future. It is the same message officials have been delivering for 20 years: population ageing will create spending pressures that the current tax base cannot support.

Last Tuesday, Friedrich Merz looked fatally wounded before his time in office had even properly begun.

Winning an election can still mean losing control. This paradox is playing out in Germany right now. The Christian Democrats under would-be Chancellor Friedrich Merz have squandered their election win with breathtaking efficiency.

Last November, Germany’s “traffic light” coalition collapsed and snap elections were called for February. I dutifully registered to vote as a German living abroad. Following the proper procedure, I contacted the city council of the last place I lived before emigrating twenty-one years ago.