Germany

February 24, 2025 2:28 PM

Friedrich Merz and his long march to the German chancellery

Friedrich Merz, a man who has never held a government role, is preparing to take the reins in Germany just as the country faces its biggest economic and diplomatic crises in decades and Europe looks urgently for a new generation of leaders for an era of transatlantic tension. Merz's conservatives came first in Germany's national election on Sunday, according to projected results, well ahead of their closest rival, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), giving him a mandate to form a coali...

February 24, 2025 9:04 AM

German election victor Friedrich Merz plans pivot from US as coalition talks loom

Friedrich Merz, set to become Germany's next chancellor after his opposition conservatives won the national election on Sunday, vowed to help give Europe "real independence" from the U.S. as he prepared to cobble together a government. Merz, 69, faces complex and lengthy coalition negotiations after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) surged to a historic second place in a fractured vote after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's unloved three-way alliance. Mainstream parties...

February 22, 2025 3:55 PM

How do Germany’s federal elections work?

Germans go to the polls on Sunday in a snap election called after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition. This is how Germany's election system works: WHAT IS GERMANY'S HYBRID VOTING SYSTEM? Germany's reformed voting system aims to blend British- or American-style single-member constituencies with the proportionality characteristic of most continental European countries. Under the old system, proportionality was ensured by topping up parliament with extra sea...

February 21, 2025 10:57 PM

Germany set for tricky coalition building, poll shows ahead of election

Germany's mainstream political parties lost support while the far-right AfD gained ground in one of the last polls published before the election on Sunday, pointing to likely tricky coalition building that could drag on for months. The vote comes at an awkward moment, leaving a leadership vacuum at the heart of Europe just as it seeks to tackle a confrontational U.S. Donald Trump whose apparent desire to disengage from the region and mend ties with Russia raises questions about the solidity of ...

February 18, 2025 9:16 AM

Europe should continue supporting Ukraine, reject peace of dictate, says Germany

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Europe should continue to support Ukraine, emphasising that no peace of dictate can be imposed on the country. "Ukraine should have confidence in us. It is clear that we should continue to support Ukraine," Scholz said on Monday after attending an emergency meeting convened by French President Emmanuel Macron on the eve of the Russian-US talks set to take place Tuesday in Riyadh. "No peace of dictate can be imposed on Ukraine... Ukraine cannot accept eve...

January 21, 2025 4:21 PM

Germany to lobby Trump on WHO withdrawal, agency hopes for U-turn

Berlin will try to talk U.S. President Donald Trump out of his decision to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organisation, Germany's health minister said on Tuesday. The U.N. agency also said that it hoped that its top donor country would change its mind and looked forward to a constructive dialogue with Trump's team. "The new U.S. president's announcement to withdraw from the World Health Organisation (WHO) is a serious blow to the international fight against global health cris...

November 26, 2024 12:18 PM

Madhya Pradesh CM woos UK investors, highlights state’s growth potential

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav met with British leaders and business executives on Monday as part of his week-long trip to the UK and Germany from November 24-30. The visit aims to attract global investors to Madhya Pradesh by showcasing the state’s opportunities across key sectors. During the meeting, UK House of Lords member Raminder Ranger praised India’s rapid economic growth. “The future belongs to India. Economies in Europe and America are stagnating, but India is growing...

November 25, 2024 4:13 PM

Tech-wary Germans get hooked with online shopping habit

In only a few years, Germans have become a nation of online shoppers, with most now turning to devices to buy clothes, groceries and medicines in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey showed that 99% of adults in Germany, where more than 70% of companies still use fax machines, now shop online, with 39% of respondents doing so at least once a week. This is despite Germans being more negative on technology trends than the European average, with a 2022 McKinsey study finding them particula...

October 25, 2024 2:51 PM

India-Germany friendship deepening across all fronts: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday lauded the strengthening relationship between India and Germany, speaking alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is on a two-day state visit to India. Addressing the 18th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business 2024, PM Modi said, "On one hand, the CEO Forum meeting is underway, while on the other, our navies are conducting joint exercises. German naval ships are currently making a port call in Goa, and soon, we will commence the seventh round of ...

September 26, 2024 9:40 AM

G4 nations ‘Brazil, Germany, India & Japan’ stress comprehensive UNSC reform as essential

The G4 Ministers representing Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan stressed that a comprehensive reform of the Security Council is an "essential part" of any endeavor to make the United Nations better reflect contemporary geopolitical realities and thus fit for the present and future. Foreign Ministers from the "Group of Four" countries - Brazil's Mauro Vieira, Germany's Annalena Baerbock, India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Japan's Yoko Kamikawa met on the margins of the 79th Sess...