Controversial proposals for Tübingen are an attempt to deter car use in the city, with larger vehicles paying the mostThe mayor of the southern German city of Tübingen has attracted praise and scorn alike for a new plan to increase parking fees by 600%…
Germans undecided on whether Merkel’s CDU heir can fill her shoes
Christian Democrat continuity candidate Armin Laschet is struggling to live up to his briefAngela Merkel’s shoe size is 38, she revealed to a rain-sodden, momentarily confused audience at an election rally on the Baltic coast on Tuesday night. That is …
16 years in 16 words: the sayings that sum up Merkel’s Germany
Refugees, Russian sympathisers and half-dressed footballers: Germany’s forever chancellor had words for them allAngela Merkel’s 16-year tenure at the top of German politics will leave lasting legacies in many fields, but the art of political oratory is…
Brexit made an unlikely hero of Angela Merkel for Britain’s remainers | Rafael Behr
The German chancellor’s record is mixed, but her exit brings home how adrift Europhiles in the UK now areAngela Merkel is used to being unimpressed by British prime ministers. She was appalled by David Cameron’s casual surrender of influence in Europe,…
German parties vague on pension plans as they court older voters
Ageing population is putting strain on system that is a point of national pride for manyThe churned-up garden of the clubhouse for pensioners is preoccupying Peter Klotsche. “It’s the raccoons,” he says. “They come at night and toss up the earth lookin…
Urgent climate action is getting lost in the heat of Germany’s election campaign | Hanna Gersmann
Despite the summer’s floods, frontrunner Olaf Scholz’s ‘moderate’ climate message is holding out against the GreensForty years ago, Germans loved to make fun of eco-types who ate muesli, wore shapeless knitted sweaters and packed their groceries in jut…
How the refugee crisis created two myths of Angela Merkel | Daniel Trilling
The right says the German chancellor undermined EU security; Liberals say it was a triumph. But her legacy is far more mixedWhen Angela Merkel steps down as chancellor after Germany’s elections later this month, the tributes will centre on her role as …
Electric vehicles divide opinion as car-loving Germany goes to polls
Election has framed future of automobility as showdown between petrolheads and green zealotsThe second Steve Dumke spots a gap in the traffic on the road from Eggersdorf to Strausberg, his white Hyundai Ioniq lurches forward and nestles between two fas…
Centre-left German election candidate ‘eager to form government with Greens’
Poll declares Olaf Scholz of the SDP victor of all three televised debates before next Sunday’s voteThe centre-left frontrunner to replace Angela Merkel emphasised his eagerness to form a government with the Greens in the last TV debate before next Sun…
Climate top of the agenda as knife-edge race to lead Germany enters final stage
Cheers and jeers greet political rivals trying to succeed Merkel, as they chase green votes in the former DDRAs Annalena Baerbock steps on to the stage, the downpour that minutes before had soaked those gathered on Chemnitz’s Theater Platz ceases. The …