One Day of German Unity, please

But hold the unity.

“We’ve been building walls for far too long”: What is the mood regarding German reunification after the elections?

Following election victories in the east by the AfD – a party classified by some as far-right—here’s what the mood is like today among native East Germans who now live in the area…

Angela Merkel’s “We can do it” may be a cliché, but it’s important to stand together. “But you shouldn’t tell voters what to do; that doesn’t go over well, especially with people in the new federal states.”

Migration, energy, taxation, bureaucracy… and migration

That’s behind it. At least when it comes to the AfD.

What’s behind the rising polarization in German politics?

Recent state elections in Germany saw wins for parties on the political fringes, while parties in the center struggled. What is behind this realignment? And is it here for good?

“Elections still closed to foreigners” in Berlin?

I don’t understand.

How could elections not be closed to foreigners? In Berlin or anywhere else.

In cosmopolitan Berlin, elections still closed to foreigners – A quarter of Berlin residents will have no say in the German capital’s city-state election because they lack citizenship. That’s the highest proportion of residents excluded from the election yet, and many are unhappy.

German of the day: “Mir blutet das Herz”

That means “my heart is bleeding.” About the AfD’s big election victory in Saxony-Anhalt.

Says the woman directly responsible for the AfD’s big election victory in Saxony-Anhalt.

It’s the migration, stupid.

Merkel on AfD Victory in Saxony-Anhalt: “My Heart Is Breaking” – Former Chancellor Angela Merkel says she is shocked by the outcome of the election in Saxony-Anhalt. She called the result “a real turning point” in the history of the Federal Republic.

German politicians can’t figure out why…

Voters keep refusing to vote the way they want them to.

They keep voting right. Which is wrong.

The other Berlin Wall – Germany needs a new strategy for coping with the AfD.

Mainstream parties can’t avoid talking to the hard-right front-runner for ever…

A smattering of German words, such as Blitzkrieg and Schadenfreude, have made their way into other languages. Among the most recent to begin to do so are Zeitenwende (“turning of the times”) and Brandmauer (“firewall”). The first reflects the shift in geopolitical thinking in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; the second, mainstream politicians’ determination to isolate extreme parties. However, what was intended to signal that Germans have learned from history has instead plunged their nation into a political crisis.

Uneducated, illiterate cops?

OK. But they should at least be able to speak the language.

Berlin police struggle to find German-speaking recruits – Berlin is struggling to recruit enough police officers because applicants are unable to speak German, according to the force’s president.

Barbara Slowik Meisel revealed that 40 per cent of applicants failed a German language skills test.

Ms Slowik Meisel said the trend, driven by increasing numbers of migrant applications, had created a dilemma for the Berlin police department: it cannot lower its standards but also urgently needs officers.

A pattern seems to be developing here…

What, or who, could be the problem?

Rise in ramming attacks – The attack is the latest in a series that have left the country grappling with questions about public safety.

Six people were killed and hundreds injured when a car plowed into a Christmas market in Magdeburg in December 2024. Two months later, a car drove into trade union demonstrators in Munich, killing a woman and her two-year-old daughter. Two more people were killed in March 2025 when a car rammed into a crowd in Mannheim…

Which population?

The German population, as in actual Germans, in Germany?

Most definitely. And it’s been doing so for years.

Germany news: Population shrinks for first time since 2020 – A dip in net migration meant it could not cancel out Germany’s low birth rates in 2025.

Germany’s population shrank by roughly 110,000, or 0.13%, last year.

German of the day: Realitätsverweigerung

That means denying reality.

A common German problem.

Op-ed on Bärbel Bas: That’s a denial of reality, Minister!

“No foreigners are exploiting our social welfare systems,” claims Labor Minister and SPD Chairwoman Bärbel Bas. Our Labor Minister. The woman who should know the facts and figures better than anyone. I wonder: What country does Ms. Bas live in?

Nearly half of all welfare recipients in Germany are foreigners.