In 2018, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced she would not run for reelection in 2021. This set the stage for the selection of a new Chairperson of the CDU. In a contested race between three candidates, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was elected as party Chair in December of 2018 and presumptive candidate for Chancellor. However, last month she decided to step down as party Chair, reopening the question of...

With the drop in support of the center-right and center-left Volksparteien (catch-all parties) it seems as though Germany’s political middle is hollowing out. Different forces and trends are at play. Join us for a Hot Topics Call on Friday, March 13, at 10:00 am (EST) with Thomas Krüger, Director of the Federal Agency for Civic...

In late February, William Boston and Tom Fairless published the attached article in the Wall Street Journal. The article focuses on the economic implications of the spread of the coronavirus on the German economy. Since then, markets have dropped, borders have closed, and factories have suspended production. Just days ago, Volkswagen, the world’s biggest car maker by sales,...

The spread of COVID-19 has been stealing news headlines for weeks – if not months. With over 300,000 confirmed cases worldwide, it is still to hard to tell how many people will contract the virus. Although Italy is one of the hardest hit countries, Germany's rate of infection remains relatively low. Join us for a...