All posts tagged: Germanys

Militant democracy or creeping illiberalism? Germany’s free speech dilemma.

Militant democracy or creeping illiberalism? Germany’s free speech dilemma.

Published by Jenni Sidey

Excerpted from The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy’s Most Essential Freedom by Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff. Copyright 2026. Published with permission of Johns Hopkins University Press. Due to its Nazi past, Germany’s post–World War II militant democracy has been unusually aggressive in banning hatred and extremism. Early postwar laws prohibited Nazi symbols, propaganda, and organizations. A turning point came in 1960 with the “swastika epidemic” — a surge of anti-Semitic graffiti and attacks on synagogues. In response, the German parliament made it illegal to incite hatred or insult “segments of the population” in ways that might disturb public peace. The epidemic was later revealed to be a KGB “active measures” campaign. Despite this, Germany has continually expanded its hate-speech laws to cover areas such as incitement, Holocaust denial, and the distribution of propaganda and symbols of unconstitutional organizations. Even criminal defamation laws can function as hate-speech provisions under this broad framework. While Germany’s speech laws were intended to protect minorities and democracy, they now frequently shield governments from criticism. Alarmingly, …

Germany’s Merz Speaks With Trump After Iran Ceasefire, Sources Says

Germany’s Merz Speaks With Trump After Iran Ceasefire, Sources Says

Published by Sam Flores

BERLIN, April ⁠8 (Reuters) – ⁠German Chancellor ⁠Friedrich Merz spoke ​with U.S. President ‌Donald Trump by ‌telephone ⁠on ⁠Wednesday afternoon after the latter’s ceasefire ​with Iran, two German government ​source told Reuters. According to ⁠Germany’s Bild ⁠newspaper, which ⁠first reported ​the call, the conversation ​was ⁠brief and friendly, with Merz looking ⁠to get an overview on the current ⁠state of diplomatic affairs. The two leaders did not address Germany’s possible involvement in securing the Strait ⁠of Hormuz, reported Bild. (Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by ​Miranda MurrayEditing by ​Ludwig Burger) Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters. Photos You Should See – April 2026 Source link

Germany’s center left is on the brink of oblivion – POLITICO

Germany’s center left is on the brink of oblivion – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The country’s non-starting “autumn of reforms” has already turned into the “spring of reforms,” with concrete proposals on several fronts yet to be reported. The initials results, on long-term care, are expected soon, followed by those on health care funding. After that, plans to reform the pension system are expected by June, so legislation can be drafted and submitted to parliament before it breaks for summer recess in July. Normally, all this would be a tall order for the SPD. But “major reforms must take place,” Klingbeil admitted in a recent keynote speech, and they must lead to “lower taxes, lower levies, less bureaucracy, competitive energy prices. In short: A country where work is worthwhile again.” This means the battle within the coalition will be focused on points of detail and priority that Merz and Klingbeil will argue over — both in private and performatively in public — to present their credentials to voters. But a much bigger question still looms over the SPD, just as it does with similar social democratic groupings in other …

The US Shows A Way Out Of Germany’s Energy Trap

The US Shows A Way Out Of Germany’s Energy Trap

Published by Jenni Sidey

Submitted by Thomas Kolbe Big developments are underway in Tennessee and Alabama. Over the next five years, the joint Japanese-American project will bring several so-called small modular reactors (SMRs) of the BWRX-300 type online. Almost one percent of U.S. electricity production—slightly more than three gigawatts—will be added to the existing energy mix by reactors designed by Hitachi and GE Vernova. A caveat for purists of market economics: this is a hybrid project. While the majority is privately financed, export support from Japan as well as offtake guarantees and credit facilities accounting for roughly one percent of the total volume come from the U.S. Overall, this project represents an investment of $40 billion. It joins a number of major initiatives currently being driven largely by the private sector in the U.S. Major platform operators and tech giants—Google, Meta, and Microsoft—are deeply involved in building new nuclear capacities. This disproves, above all, the claims of most German ideologues who insist that nuclear power has no future worldwide. The fog has lifted. The truth is indisputably on the …

Germany’s Merz Wants to Push Ahead Reforms After State Election Shakes Coalition

Germany’s Merz Wants to Push Ahead Reforms After State Election Shakes Coalition

Published by Sam Flores

BERLIN, March 23 (Reuters) – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ⁠promised ⁠on Monday to move quickly with ⁠promised reforms to tax and social security after his conservative Christian Democrats beat ​his Social Democrat coalition partners in a weekend state election. The vote in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate saw Merz’s ‌CDU party replace the SPD that ‌had held power in the state for 35 years, giving the chancellor a personal boost but plunging his ⁠coalition partners ⁠into crisis. It was the second of five state elections Merz’s struggling coalition must ​navigate this year and there was heavy pressure on the SPD leadership following a steady slide in approval ratings that has left the party in third place behind the far-right Alternative for Germany. Merz said he recognised the difficulties the defeat ​created for the SPD but said it was important for the government to show that it ⁠was ⁠determined to carry on with ⁠reforms to restore ​Germany’s flagging economy, which has only just emerged from two years of recession. Merz has promised a major ​package of …

From Hitler to ‘Pinocchio’: Germany’s speech laws collide with satire

From Hitler to ‘Pinocchio’: Germany’s speech laws collide with satire

Published by Sam Flores

When German historian Rainer Zitelmann reposted a photo of Adolf Hitler to warn against appeasing Russian President Vladimir Putin, he didn’t expect it to trigger a police probe. According to police, the problem was the image itself: Hitler was shown wearing a swastika armband — a banned symbol under Germany’s criminal code, which prohibits the public display of Nazi and other extremist insignia. Zitelmann was informed in February that authorities were examining the case. Zitelmann’s is just one of several recent investigations into online speech, which have raised questions about how far German authorities are going in enforcing strict speech laws — and whether efforts to curb extremism are colliding with satire and political criticism. Zitelmann said he posted the image as a warning, not an endorsement. Like Hitler, Putin cannot be trusted when he says he has no further territorial ambitions. “I’m usually against Hitler analogies,” he said. “They’re often inaccurate and used to discredit political opponents.”  But, he added, ”the parallels practically impose themselves.” A week earlier, a journalist found himself in a …

Habermas, the Philosopher Who Shaped Germany’s Post-War Conscience

Habermas, the Philosopher Who Shaped Germany’s Post-War Conscience

Published by Sam Flores

BERLIN, March 14 (Reuters) – Juergen Habermas, best-known for his theory of political consensus-building, shaped the discourse of post-war Germany ⁠more ⁠than any other popular intellectual. He died on Saturday, aged 96, in ⁠Starnberg, Germany, the publisher Suhrkamp said. Over the course of seven decades, his public interventions – from searing critiques of fascist thought in the 1950s to more recent ​warnings against resurgent militarism and nationalism in Germany – steered the country at critical junctions.  Not only his longevity, but also the renewed relevance of his ideas are remarkable in a country where post-war pacifism is waning and the far-right Alternative for ‌Germany (AfD) has become the second-strongest party in parliament. Born on June ‌18, 1929 to a bourgeois family in Dusseldorf, Juergen Habermas underwent two surgeries after birth and in early childhood for a cleft palate. A resulting speech impediment is often cited as having influenced his work on communication. He was raised ⁠in a staunchly Protestant household. ⁠His father, an economist, joined the Nazi party in 1933 but was no more than …

Germany’s Greens set to win key state vote in blow to Merz’s coalition – POLITICO

Germany’s Greens set to win key state vote in blow to Merz’s coalition – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“What a tremendous comeback!” Özdemir told his cheering supporters after polls closed. The Greens’ victory was due largely to the centrist Özdemir’s popularity with voters, surveys indicated. The vote in Baden-Württemberg is the first of five state elections and numerous local contests across the country over the next several months in what Germans are calling a Superwahljahr (“super election year”). The votes are widely seen as a key test of the national mood as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party seeks to overtake Merz’s conservatives and secure big victories in two eastern states in September. Özdemir is now set to replace the popular Green premier Winfried Kretschmann, 77, who had decided not to seek another term. CDU leaders had hoped Kretschmann’s departure would allow them to recapture the state from the Greens, which was a conservative stronghold before Kretschmann came to power in 2011. CDU top candidate Manuel Hagel greets supporters at a rally near Stuttgart last week (center). Ferdinand Knapp/POLITICO The CDU’s top candidate, Manuel Hagel, 37, came under criticism after a 2018 video of …

Germany’s pro-business liberals risk death blow in regional vote – POLITICO

Germany’s pro-business liberals risk death blow in regional vote – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

This Sunday’s vote in Baden-Württemberg — a state of some 11 million people and the cradle of Germany’s increasingly troubled auto industry — is the first in a series of five state votes seen as key tests of the national mood, particularly as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) vies for first place in many national polls. For most of Germany’s postwar history, national elections have been dominated by either the the center-right Christian Democrats or the center-left Social Democrats, with the FDP choosing at varying times to form coalition governments with both of these parties. It served as a junior coalition partner in 18 out of 25 federal governments since the founding of West Germany. As parties on Germany’s political fringes, including the AfD, have risen in popularity across Germany, the pro-business FDP has been particularly hard hit, seeing its support collapse to just 3 percent in national polls. The FDP’s new leader, Christian Dürr, is trying to revive the party’s fortunes with a policy platform he refers to as “radical centrism.” | Bernd Weißbrod/picture …

Germany’s privacy chief gets sidelined as intel services bulk up – POLITICO

Germany’s privacy chief gets sidelined as intel services bulk up – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Berlin’s plan to empower intelligence services comes as European leaders grow increasingly concerned that U.S. President Donald Trump could move to halt American intelligence sharing with Europe. To keep German spies in check, the country’s privacy regulator started a legal challenge against the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) after it refused to share details of how it hacked electronic devices of foreigners abroad and gathered data. On Thursday, an administrative court ruled the privacy regulator didn’t have legal standing to pursue the case, redirecting it to file a complaint with Germany’s chancellery instead. The ruling means “areas free from oversight will emerge” within German spy agencies, Specht-Riemenschneider said, calling the agencies’ data processing practices “secretive.” Germany’s BND has historically been far more legally constrained than intelligence agencies elsewhere, due to intentional protections put in place after World War II to prevent a repeat of the abuses perpetrated by the Nazi spy and security services Gestapo and SS. The agency was put under the oversight of the chancellery and bound to a strict parliamentary control mechanism. Germany’s …