Like Disneyland
Spending money you don’t have?
It’s easy, Germany. You can do it too.

The best part is that there are never any consequences… Right? Even when spending the money you don’t have is never actually spent.
Germany’s borrowing spree plans face a reality check – Investors would be wrong to overstate concerns about a debt surge by the country.
Germany has had an abrupt awakening on the need to increase defence spending. The country enjoyed an oversized peace dividend for years: before the Berlin Wall fell, west Germany spent almost 3 per cent of GDP on defence. In the three decades after 1993 that ratio dropped to around 1.2 per cent annually. Military capabilities fell commensurately.
Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the election of a US president given to venting misgivings about European allies, a hectic scramble has ensued to make up for lost time. As chancellor, Olaf Scholz declared a “Zeitenwende” (or historical turning point) and parliament approved a €100bn debt-financed special fund for defence spending…
Nevertheless, markets would be wrong to overstate the German debt surge. The government’s ambition will probably be thwarted when the plans get in contact with reality. Appropriating borrowing permission is much easier than actually spending it. Scholz’s military special fund is a case in point. Up to April, halfway through its life, only around a quarter of the money has been disbursed.
German politicians emitting too much gas
And missing their targets in the process.

German top politicians’ cars exceed CO2 targets: study – If EU emissions targets for the car industry were applied to top German politicians’ official vehicles, the fleet would fail, according to a climate body’s new study, saying it was “emblematic” of German carmakers.
What’s so hard about pronouncing German?
It’s “GER” like germ and then “MAN” like man.

Just say them together kind of fast.
Anything else I can help you out with?
Germany is one of the best places to make a career as an opera singer, with 80 opera houses and billions of Euros in federal support. But mastering German pronunciation can be difficult.
Germany would love to help…
But we’re just stretched too thin at the moment for the past forty years.

Germany likely too stretched to provide troops for Ukraine, foreign minister says – Johann Wadephul’s comments come as the U.S. and European nations discuss security guarantees for Kyiv as a core element of any potential peace deal.
Don’t leave Europe out of this…
But please keep doing whatever you’re doing by keeping Europe out of this.

German Chancellor Merz Backs Trump Peace Push, Calls For Trilateral Meeting With Putin – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has backed Donald Trump’s push for a peace deal with Ukraine, saying a swift settlement could outweigh a ceasefire. In interviews, Merz revealed Trump pledged U.S. security guarantees for Kyiv and urged a trilateral summit with Putin, Zelensky, and Europe’s involvement. While EU leaders push for a role, Washington remains the decisive force, with Kremlin aides cautious and U.S. allies pressing Europe to step up.
Get out your wurst puns because…
Sausage is a grill’s best friend.

German states debate who invented Bratwurst sausages – A row has broken out between two German states, Bavaria and Thuringia, as to who can lay claim to inventing the Bratwurst sausage.
Until now, the “Wurstkuchl” tavern in Bavaria has claimed to be “the oldest Bratwurst stand in the world.”
Die Wurstkuchl is situated on the Stone Bridge in Regensburg on the Danube River. The oldest documented evidence of a cook or a food stall at the Stone Bridge is said to date back to 1378.
But now, historians in Erfurt, Thuringia’s state capital, have come across a document from 1269 that mentions people who rented a building with a meat-roasting stand (Brathütte) and a roasting pan (Bräter) – more than 100 years earlier than the Regensburg sausage stand.
German of the day: Hochkultur
That means high culture.

And in Germany that means you have to be high to think this stuff up.
A nude visit to the museum? That’s exactly what’s possible on two dates at Stuttgart’s Haus der Geschichte, and it’s even expressly encouraged. Guests can not only explore the exhibition, but also enjoy curator tours and performances.
Thief rejects claim he stole the chicken…
While still holding on to the chicken.

Germany rejects US censorship claims in human rights report – The report itself has been accused of political bias, with the US softening criticism of Israel and El Salvador. Germany rejected the report saying it has “a very high level of freedom of expression.”
“There is no censorship in Germany.”

