Constantin Eckner

Amid growing uncertainty caused by the US-Israel offensive against Iran and surging gas prices, Germany had its first major election of the year yesterday, with the new state parliament of Baden-Württemberg elected. Forecasts indicate that the Greens, who have been governing the state for the past 15 years, will remain in control of the premier office in Stuttgart, while the Christian Democrats (the CDU) have come in as a close second. Over the past couple of months, it appeared as if the Christian Democrats, with their leading candidate Manuel Hagel, could win the election. But negative vibes from Berlin impacted Hagel's campaign, as promised reforms continue to stall and Friedrich Merz's CDU-led government faces record low approval ratings.

Germany’s politicians have a short list of New Year's resolutions: to make considerable improvement across the board. As the new year gets underway, the country is staring down the barrel of a federal election next month. Whoever comes to power must combat economic stagnation, get immigration under control, find a way to effectively collaborate with Donald Trump’s administration on trade and the war in Ukraine, and win back the reins of power within the European Union. Last year was a turgid year for Germany. Not only did Germany's federal government collapse in the wake of ongoing internal disputes between the three ruling parties, but the economy continued to stagnate with no hope of growth any time soon.

Germany’s ruling traffic-light coalition – which has looked shaky since it was formed three years ago – has finally collapsed. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he had no trust in his finance minister Christian Lindner, who leads the Free Democrats. Scholz's decision to act against Lindner follows months of disagreements between Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Free Democrats and the Greens over budget policy and the country’s economic direction. A vote of confidence, which could pave the way for early elections, will take place early next year. As the ruling coalition has been busy tearing itself apart, Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been making headway, gaining support in several federal states.

Germany has voted to oppose a proposal by the European Commission to introduce additional tariffs on electric cars imported from China. This was no surprise: in the days leading up to today's meeting, German chancellor Olaf Scholz and other government officials in Berlin had made clear that they had instructed the country's representative not to vote in favour of such tariffs, widely described as 'punitive'. Alongside Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Malta and Slovenia voted against the introduction of the tariffs. A majority of states representing at least 65 per cent of the population in the EU – or 14 of the bloc's members states – would have been needed to stop the Commission's plans. The Commission aims to put up additional tariffs of up to 35.3 per cent on electric cars from China.

For the second time in three weeks, the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) has received a significant percentage of the votes at a state election in eastern Germany. The far-right party won 29.5 per cent of the votes in Brandenburg, the state surrounding Berlin. Given the polls going into Sunday, the AfD might even be disappointed that it did not place first, rather than second behind the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Even though the SPD won by a slight margin, the pressure on the federal government led by Olaf Scholz and the Social Democrats may increase further in the coming weeks. In the lead-up to the elections, tensions within the SPD rose. Dietmar Woidke, the SPD’s state president, did not want to appear together with Scholz during election campaign events.

From next week, Germany will enforce controls at its borders once again. The decision, announced by interior minister Nancy Faeser, comes only a little more than a week after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) achieved major successes in several regional elections. Faeser said that border controls would be applied to tackle irregular immigration as well as to strengthen internal security against the threat of Islamic terrorism and international criminality. These permanent controls will replace the usual spot checks common at borders within the European Union for six months, although it is possible that they could be extended.

When Keir Starmer became Prime Minister he immediately dumped the Tories' Rwanda deportation scheme. The Labour leader said the £310 million scheme, under which those seeking asylum in Britain would be sent to Africa, was 'dead' and 'buried'. But Germany is now considering resurrecting the plan and using Rwanda as a third party country for migrants with facilities paid for by Britain. Germany’s special commissioner for migration agreements, Joachim Stamp, proposed deporting asylum seekers coming through Russia and Belarus to Rwanda while their applications are processed.

Alternative für Deutschland's success in east German state elections marks a major blow to the government in Berlin. The AfD is set to win almost a third of the vote in Thuringia – putting it nine points ahead of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU). The AfD's top candidate in Thuringia, Björn Höcke, hailed a 'historic victory'. Despite the best efforts of the centrist parties, the AfD is not going away. Scholz's remarks ignore a simple reality: that the AfD has transcended its status as a mere party of protest. This result, if confirmed once all votes are counted, would mark the first victory for a far-right party in a state parliament since World War Two. The anti-immigration Alliance of Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) also enjoyed success in Saxony.

Germany's chancellor is cracking down on asylum seekers – but he is not doing so willingly. The country's federal government is weighing up a system – similar to the UK's mooted 'Rwanda plan' – for asylum applications to be processed abroad. But Olaf Scholz, who was essentially cornered into the announcement following a marathon session with regional leaders from Germany's 16 state governments, is sceptical. 'There are...a whole series of legal questions,' Scholz said after emerging in the early hours of Tuesday morning from an acrimonious meeting with state leaders. The plan, a 17-page agreement, is an attempt to counter the rise of far-right parties like Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).

Sahra Wagenknecht, a pivotal figure of the German left, has decided to go up against her former party by launching a new protest movement. Today, Wagenknecht gave a press conference announcing that she was leaving Die Linke party to run an organisation called the 'Sahra Wagenknecht alliance'. She argued that Germany’s infrastructure was in a bad way and warned that the country faces a loss of prosperity if, among other things, it does not give up on its dogged pursuit of green policies. 'Things cannot continue the way they are currently going,' she said. Over the past decade, Wagenknecht has become one of the most well-known left-wing politicians in Germany, regularly assuming anti-capitalist positions and thereby becoming an icon of the extreme left.

King Charles III is going down a storm in Berlin. Hundreds of wellwishers have turned out to greet the King during a reception at the Brandenburg Gate – and the monarch, who is on his first trip abroad since taking the throne, seems relaxed. But amidst the selfies and Burger King hats (which many of those who turned out to see the King have opted to wear), there is serious business to be done – and German politicians are optimistic that Charles's visit can repair some of the damage caused by Brexit. While Charles's mother Elizabeth was seen as apolitical, the King's past commitments to social and ecological causes have raised expectations that he might be able to bridge the gap between the UK and Germany in the post-Brexit era.